Ben Stokes dubbed 'Bat of God' for controversial six, draws comparison with Diego Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’

England lifted their maiden trophy at the marquee event on the basis of more boundaries scored than New Zealand in the final count.

England all-rounder Ben Stokes' impressive knock of 84 not only saw the Eoin Morgan-led side push the final clash of the 2019 International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup against New Zealand into the Super-Over but also helped the hosts to eventually lift their maiden trophy at the marquee event. 

Needing 15 runs off the last over in England's chase of 242-run target, New Zealand believed that they had won the summit showdown of the 2019 World Cup at Lord's on Sunday after delivering dot balls on the first two deliveries. 

Though Stokes brought England back into the game with a six off the third delivery, it was a controversial "six" on the fourth ball that tilted the game in favour of the hosts and eventually to the first-ever Super Over in the history of the World Cup final after the two teams finished tied at 241 in their stipulated 50 overs. 

On the fourth ball of the last over, Stokes looked to go for a big shot but Martin Guptill charged in from deep midwicket, collected the ball and made a direct hit. The throw ricocheted off Stokes' bat and ran away to the boundary behind the wicketkeeper for four runs. 

As a result, England were awarded a total of six runs--four from the overthrow and two by the batsmen--by on-field umpire Kumar Dharmasena which eventually led to a Super-Over. 

The Eoin Morgan-led side posted 15 runs in the first-ever Super-Over in a World Cup final clash before New Zealand also finished on 15. England eventually lifted their maiden trophy at the marquee event on the basis of more boundaries scored than New Zealand in the final count. 

Simon Taufel, who is a five-time winner of the ICC's Umpire of the Year award and is widely considered as one of the greatest umpires of this century, argued that England should have been given five runs instead of six on that fourth delivery of the last over.

“It’s a clear mistake.. it’s an error of judgment. They (England) should have been awarded five runs, not six,” Taufel told foxsports.com.au.

Notably, the ICC rule pertains to "Overthrow or wilful act of fielder", states, "If the boundary results from an overthrow or from the wilful act of a fielder, the runs scored shall be any runs for penalties awarded to either side, and the allowance for the boundary, and the runs completed by the batsmen, together with the run in progress if they had already crossed at the instant of the throw or act."

While Taufel was against those six runs, fans have dubbed Stokes as "Bat of God" and compared the incident to football legend Diego Maradona’s infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal against England that guided Argentina to glory during the 1986 FIFA World Cup.

Let us take a look at how Twitteratis reacted: 

We had the Hand Of God all those years ago....
We saw the Bat Of God at Lord’s today. Those four extra runs off Stoke’s bat....phew. #CWC19 #EngvNZ — Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) July 14, 2019

Hand of God
-Maradona in 1986
Bat of the God
-Ben Stokes in 2019#ItsComingHome pic.twitter.com/ULPWLQTu1y — Gaurav Patil@10 (@gauravrocks04) July 14, 2019

Who made this?! #CWC19Final @englandcricket #batofgod pic.twitter.com/RkoEFXnv5D — Habibullah Khan (@Habibullah20073) July 14, 2019

The Hand of God | The Bat Of God pic.twitter.com/dVXAlQF92W — Halal Khan (@brumbyoz) July 15, 2019

1, 2, 3 #BenStokes

England suffered the Hand Of God in football

England can savour the #BatOfGod in cricket #CWC19Final pic.twitter.com/Py5MUk423C — Newspauper (@ippusultan) July 14, 2019