England’s Ben Stokes has dedicated his unbeaten 107 for the Rajasthan Royals to his father Ged, who is ill in New Zealand.
In August, Stokes senior revealed he had been diagnosed with brain cancer.
The England captain spent time with his family before travelling to play in the Indian Premier League.
“I take a bit of solace that back home, where things are a bit rough, hopefully that gives him a bit of happiness,” said Stokes.
The all-rounder raised his bat and hand with a folded finger after the hundred as a gesture to his father, whose middle finger was amputated because of injuries received while playing and coaching rugby league.
Stokes’ performance led the Royals to an eight-wicket victory over Mumbai Indians to keep their IPL hopes alive. He shared 152 with Sanju Samson to get the Royals to their target of 196 with 10 balls to spare.
Jofra Archer earlier took a spectacular one-handed catch during Mumbai’s 195-5.
The win lifts the Royals from bottom to fifth place in the eight-team table, two points off the play-off place. Rajasthan’s last two matches are against Kings XI and Kolkata, while Kings XI and Kolkata meet on Monday.
Stokes had previously struggled to make an impact in the competition and cut a frustrated figure in the Royals’ defeat by the Sunrisers Hyderabad in their previous game.
“I had my best net yesterday and came into this game with more confidence,” he added.
“I wish I could have played like this two or three games ago.”
(bbcsport)