Jonny Bairstow demonstrated his striking power with a remarkable second strike Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 century during Punjab Kings’ (PBKS) amazing record hunt against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens on Friday (April 26). Punjab chased a mammoth target with eight wickets in hand, largely due to Bairstow’s explosive innings. Partnership with Shashank SinghBairstow, who contributed an incredible 68 runs off just 28 balls, found crucial support and played with immense confidence throughout the innings.
Jonny Bairstow’s aggressive innings turned the tide in PBKS’s favour
Bairstow reached his century milestone in the 16th over, showing exceptional timing and power in his stroke play. He only needed 45 throws to accomplish this feat, demonstrating his aggressive intent from the start. Despite being under pressure due to his previous low scores in the tournament, the explosive batsman showed resilience and determination to reach his 50 in just 23 balls. The strong foundation laid by the opening partnership of 93 runs in six overs, especially with Prabhsimran Singhset the tone for Bairstow’s explosive innings.
Bairstow’s dominance was particularly evident against Andrew Russell, which he ruthlessly targeted and scored high on his second pass. His innings was characterized by powerful hits, including a colossal six that traveled 105 metres.
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Sunil Narine and Phil Salt batted aggressively for KKR
Earlier, Sunil Narine And Phil Salt once again showcased their aggressive batting skills and took full advantage of Punjab’s errors on the field to dominate proceedings. Salt was the top scorer with an impressive 75 runs while Narine contributed a dynamic 71 to the team’s total score. The quickfire cameos from Shreyas Iyer And Venkatesh Iyer Also had a significant impact on the scoreboard as the duo took KKR to 261/6. Despite their efforts Rahul Chahar proved to be the opposition’s most economical bowler, conceding just 33 runs in his four overs and taking one wicket. On the other hand, Arshdeep Singh stood out as Punjab’s standout bowler, taking two crucial wickets and conceding 45 runs in his quota of four overs.
This is how Twitter reacted:
Phenomenal 💯 from Bairstow 👏🏾
— Robin Aiyuda Uthappa (@robbieuthappa) April 26, 2024
Cricket has changed. The mindset of batsmen has changed.
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) April 26, 2024
WOW
— Kevin Pietersen🦏 (@KP24) April 26, 2024
I thought we wouldn’t go as crazy as Buttler & Stoini’s tone while chasing this IPL, then Jonny Bairstow woke up in a TWO HUNDRED SIXTY CHASE
– arfan (@Im__Arfan) April 26, 2024
Jonny Bairstow becomes the FIRST player to score an IPL century as he chases a total of 250+ points.
— Kausthub Gudipati (@kaustats) April 26, 2024
They just chased 262 in a T20 match with 8 balls remaining and ended up getting there with three singles. Power standards have officially peaked. Being a bowler is officially a dangerous profession #IPL2024 #KKRvPBKS pic.twitter.com/2WcHXfxwV7
-Bharat Sundaresan (@beastieboy07) April 26, 2024
Punjab Kings were chasing the highest winning record in T20 cricket history 🤯🫡👊🔥#IPL2024 #KKRvPBKS
Scorecard: https://t.co/DEGGKQDAK1 #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/oDh8lTBSLX— CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) April 26, 2024
Bairstow has once again moved up to a higher level and has been manned by the likes of Viv Richards, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Sachin Tendulkar in the past.
— TakeADeepBreath (@DeepTake) April 26, 2024
My husband Bairstow did a Brendon McCullum there 😭😭😭
— Heisenberg ☢ (@internetumpire) April 26, 2024
Hit century #IPL2024 by Jonny Bairstow 🔥
— Sushant Mehta (@SushantNMehta) April 26, 2024
After a tough winter, a 45-ball IPL ton is a reminder of how destructive Jonny Bairstow can be.
If everyone is at their best, England will have a very dangerous top four for the T20 World Cup: Buttler, Salt, Jacks, Bairstow
— Tim Wigmore (@timwig) April 26, 2024
Prabhsimran Wow. Bairstow Wow. Shashank Wow
PBKS WoW
—` (@bdrijalab) April 26, 2024
Wow, what an exciting chase! Bairstow, Shashank and Prabhsimran played exceptional innings to help Punjab Kings achieve such a monumental goal. That must have been an electrifying game!
— Pushkarkuntal (@Pushkarkuntal1) April 26, 2024
We take these insights into account and look forward to the next challenge. pic.twitter.com/XDA6e9gtzn
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) April 26, 2024
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