 "Bairstow finally announces himself in IPL 2024 as PBKS flex batting muscle against KKR to pull off record chase")
Punjab Kings had been at the receiving end of one of the greatest chases ever witnessed in the T20 format when Rahul Tewatia had helped Rajasthan Royals chase down a target of 224 in Sharjah in the 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL).
On Friday, opening batter Jonny Bairstow helped the Kings somewhat exorcise the demons of that defeat by smashing an unbeaten 108 off just 48 balls, helping his team pull off the highest successful chase across T20 cricket and not just the IPL, smashing the record that had belonged to the South African cricket team for a little over a year.
The Royals’ chase was every bit a nerve-wracking affair where the Kings had fought back with three quick wickets in the last two overs, but would ultimately be left heartbroken as Jofra Archer and Tom Curran got their team over the line with four wickets and three balls to spare.
Punjab’s chase against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Friday was anything but a nail-biter. And what made it even more majestic was the fact that Bairstow got his team home in a canter after they were set a whopping 262 to win!
The 17th season of the IPL certainly has been an eventful one, 250-mark having been breached seven times — twice in both innings of the same match. Royal Challengers Bengaluru had held on to the record for the highest IPL total (263/5 against Pune Warriors in 2013) for 11 years. Sunrisers Hyderabad alone would exceed that total thrice this season and would break the record for the highest innings score in the league not once but twice.
And now Punjab comfortably chasing down a target of 262 and doing so in ruthless fashion only goes to show that anything is possible in what surely is an IPL season on steroids.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThere has been plenty of discussion surrounding the possibility of the 300-barrier getting breached this season, for the first time in the IPL and only the second time in the T20 format. The manner in which the Punjab batters wielded the willow against the Knight Riders in the latter’s den, they could very well have achieved that on Friday had they been allowed to bat till the 20th over.
Bairstow bounces back to form in some style
At the heart of their memorable chase was Bairstow’s 45-ball century, the Englishman ensuring that the asking rate that was above 13 at the start of their innings was always within check. Bairstow ended up carrying his bat through the chase and got his team over the line with an over to spare.
The 34-year-old had been in patchy form this season and his failures with the bat at the top of the order were one of the reasons behind Punjab Kings’ woeful run this season, with the 2014 runners-up having lost six out of eight games heading into Friday’s encounter at the Eden. Stand-in captain Sam Curran and head coach Trevor Bayliss eventually had to drop him from the XI with Curran moving up the order to open alongside Prabhsimran Singh and all-rounder Liam Livingstone joining the middle order.
Though he finished off in style, Bairstow had started on a cautious note, perhaps due to the pressure of having collected just 96 runs in his six outings this season at an average of 16 and subsequently getting the axe. He was batting on 12 off 10 balls at the end of the fifth over mark, having collected just two fours at that point despite the fielding restrictions, and that approach could have cost his team the match had it not been for opening partner Prabhsimran’s brilliance at the other hand.
After a tidy first over from Sri Lankan seamer Dushmantha Chameera, making his first appearance for the Knight Riders on Friday, Prabhsimran decided to tee off with a couple of sixes off Harshit Rana in the following over. Chameera would then be smashed all over the park by Prabhsimran in the following over, getting hit for two sixes and as many fours in a 23-run third over.
Shreyas Iyer tried deploying spin in the powerplay by introducing Anukul Roy and Sunil Narine, both of whom would go for 12 runs each in their first overs as the 23-year-old raced to his half-century in just 18 deliveries.
Prabhsimran’s ruthlessness allowed Bairstow to settle into his groove — which is easier said than done for a batter out of form and facing pressure to retain his place in the XI. He would finally shift gears in the sixth over, carting Roy for two mighty sixes and as many fours to move into the 30s in quick time.
Prabhsimran was run out by a direct hit at the striker’s end while trying to complete a quick single, departing right after bringing up his half-century with PBKS losing their first wicket with 93 on the board. For Bairstow, though, there was no looking back from thereon, and it would be a one-way street in favour of the Kings for the remainder of the evening.
𝐉𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐘 𝐁𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐓𝐎𝐍 💯 👏#KKRvPBKS #TATAIPL #IPLonJioCinema #JonnyBairstow pic.twitter.com/up0MIt84cm
— JioHotstar Reality (@HotstarReality) April 26, 2024
Bairstow would hammer Rana for a six in his second over of the evening, followed by a maximum off Varun Chakravarthy in the ninth and a four in Andre Russell’s first over of the evening. All this while, hard-hitting South African batter Rilee Rossouw was also starting to gain some confidence as he struck a four and a six off Rana and Russell respectively. PBKS had reached 132/1 at the halfway stage of the chase, needing another 130 to win with KKR still the firm favourites to walk away with another W in their account.
The second half of the Punjab innings witnessed even more brutality, especially from Bairstow. This despite Narine bowling two outstanding overs under the circumstances, in which he conceded just 11 runs from his last two overs while also getting the wicket of Rossouw to bring the Knight Riders back in the game.
Narine would sign off with figures of 1/24 in a match that witnessed more than 500 runs being scored and would’ve been the deserved Player of the Match, having struck a 32-ball 71 and stitched a 138-run opening stand in a little over 10 overs with Phil Salt (75) earlier in the day.
Bairstow though is one of the most dangerous batters across formats once he gets settled at the centre, and can win matches single-handedly — a trait that he shares with fellow Englishmen Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler among others. He had highlighted that in the IPL with a 56-ball 114 for SRH against RCB in 2019 and would serve another reminder on Friday in what easily was the more dominant of his two tons in the world’s biggest T20 league.
Bairstow hammered Chakravarthy for two sixes and a four right after the halfway stage, the leg-spinner going for 17 in his second over. Dre Russ, who played a crucial role with the ball in KKR’s thrilling four-run victory over RCB earlier this week, was even more expensive next up, getting smashed for 24 runs including two sixes to Bairstow.
The carnage ensured the pressure was still on the home team even after Rossouw’s dismissal, and new batter Shashank Singh only made it worse by dispatching Chakravarthy for back-to-back maximums shortly after his arrival at the crease.
As had been the case in the first half of the innings, Bairstow was happy to let his partner assume charge for the remainder of the innings. Prabhsimran had obliterated the KKR attack in the powerplay and it was the in-form Shashank’s turn in the death overs, with the all-rounder, who has produced some unbelievable knocks this season along with fellow rookie Ashutosh Sharma, smashing eight sixes and two fours and remaining unbeaten on 68 off just 28 deliveries.
“We got off to a good start. That was the key. They got off to a good start as well thanks to Sunil. You have to take risks,” he said.
“Sometimes luck will go your way. Some days it won’t be your day. Tried to whack it as far as possible. If it is in your area, you had to go. We had a couple of quiet overs when Sunil was bowling as we knew how important he is for them. Shashank Singh is a special player. The knowledge he has had been amazing. How clean he hit it! Was indeed very special,” Bairstow said after the game , reflecting the carnage at Eden where both bowling units were taken to the cleaners.
Friday’s drama though, does little as far as the race to the playoffs is concerned, with KKR still occupying the second spot on the table and still having the best Net Run Rate of all teams. PBKS moved up one spot to eighth after collecting their third win in nine outings, but it will take a miracle for them to finish in the playoff zone at the end of the league stage.
What it did, however, is make the 17th season just that more memorable. And remind fans of PBKS’ ability to keep them entertained even if they aren’t quite up there with teams such as Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians, or even KKR when it comes to winning trophies.
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