When a franchise retains or buys a player for top dollars, there are expectations; expectations to win games and justify the money paid. Rajasthan Royals' Ben Stokes is a top-dollar cricketer who commands the price he gets. He proved that in the way he buccaneered an unbeaten hundred against a strong Mumbai Indians side on Sunday.

Batting first, MI lost in-form Quinton de Kock to a wicket-hungry Jofra Archer. With Archer and the white ball, one expects early wickets and he rarely disappoints. A rebuilding process seemed imminent with the in-form player, Ishan Kishan gone. Suryakumar Yadav and Saurabh Tiwari provided that until the devastating Hardik Pandya took centrestage.