'Scary' Stokes' power frightens teammates

Adam Zampa says he’s never seen a player hit a ball as hard as his Pune Supergiant teammate Ben Stokes, and after last night’s blistering century against Gujarat it’s hard to argue with the leg-spinner.

Scorecard and report: Stokes downs Lions with incredible innings

Stokes single-handedly lifted Pune to victory when he scored his maiden Indian Premier League century from 61 balls having entered with his side in dire straits at 3-10 in the second over.

What followed was a masterclass in power hitting as the England allrounder crashed seven fours and six sixes to guide his side to a five-wicket win with one ball to spare.

The 25-year-old linked up with Pune after he was sold for a staggering AUD$2.8m at this year’s IPL auction and made an immediate, and frightening, impact on his new Australian teammate.

"The first few net sessions here I actually couldn’t believe how hard and far he hit the ball," Zampa told cricket.com.au in the lead-up to last night’s win in Pune.

"He hits it harder than anyone I’ve ever seen to be fair.

"It can be scary bowling to him in the nets.

"It’s just power. You feel like you beat him in the air, spinning away with a wrong’un and he just powers it."

Prior to his unbeaten 103 yesterday, Stokes had scarcely shown his batting potential at his new franchise, having only reached 50 once in his first seven innings.

Monday’s knock was even more impressive given it was his first hit back since suffering an injury to his bowling shoulder against Mumbai last week.

He missed two matches – against Kolkata and Bangalore – but returned in spectacular fashion on his home turf of the Maharashtra Cricket Association's International Stadium.

Zampa has played only two games this season but says it’s Stokes’ drive on and off the field that has made Pune genuine title contenders this season after finishing second-last in 2016.

"The power of his batting and he’s been awesome with the ball for us and he just seems like a great competitor," Zampa said when asked what Stokes has brought to the team in IPL 10.

"I’ve never seen someone consistently blow up as much even if he gets out for 50 or 60 or mishits one in the nets.

"He loves a blow up and is definitely a bit of a competitor."

So what does Zampa do when he sees a Stokes eruption coming?

"I have to walk out or I laugh too much," he said.

"He’s a great lad. He’s one of the blokes who tries to make everyone laugh on the WhatsApp group, a bit like myself.

"He’s pretty funny but I’m probably more successful at making them laugh. He’s a very good bloke."

Stokes will be one of England’s key players as they host the Champions Trophy this June and head into the tournament a warm favourite.

While there might an expectation from England’s home fans to go one step further than their runners-up finish in the last Champions Trophy in 2013, Zampa says Stokes is the perfect example of how to deal with public pressure. 

"I think (England) will be fine," he said. "They’ve got a great young team.

"Being around someone like Ben Stokes, if there’s any weight of expectancy it’s when you get $2m in the IPL and the way that he’s performed for Pune, if that goes to show anything for the rest of their team I’m pretty sure they’ll be nice and relaxed and nothing will weigh them down too much."