The Eden Gardens in Kolkata bore witness to an extraordinary feat in the annals of T20 cricket as Jonny Bairstow’s blistering century propelled the Punjab Kings to the highest successful run chase in the format’s history. In a pulsating Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 encounter against the Kolkata Knight Riders, the England star unleashed a batting onslaught of the highest caliber, smashing an unbeaten 108 off just 48 deliveries to overhaul a daunting target of 262 with eight wickets and eight balls to spare.
Bairstow’s innings was a masterclass in calculated aggression, laced with nine towering sixes and eight blistering boundaries. The right-hander acknowledged the need for a blistering start when faced with a mammoth chase, stating, “When you’ve to chase 200-plus, you’ve to take risks in the powerplay. Try and whack it as hard as possible.”
And whack it he did, with Bairstow and opening partner Prabhsimran Singh (54 off 20) putting on a whirlwind 93-run stand to lay the foundation for the record pursuit. Despite Prabhsimran’s dismissal, Bairstow found an able ally in Rilee Rossouw (26), the duo adding a further 85 runs to maintain the relentless momentum.
While Bairstow’s ballistic batting stole the headlines, Shashank Singh’s blistering cameo of 68 not out off just 28 deliveries, studded with eight maximums and two fours, provided the final flourish. The duo’s unbroken 84-run partnership off just 37 balls ensured that Punjab overhauled the target with relative ease, leaving the capacity crowd at Eden Gardens in awe.
The match itself was a statistician’s delight, with the batters from both sides clubbing a staggering 42 sixes, setting a new record for the most maximums in a T20 game. Punjab captain Sam Curran marveled at the power-hitting on display, quipping, “Cricket has turned to baseball, hasn’t it? Guys can hit balls for long periods of time, the coaches, training, the dew, dot balls become wide after reviews and you get the extra ball. Stats are going out of the window.”
Earlier, it was the Kolkata Knight Riders who set the stage for the record-breaking chase, with Sunil Narine and Phil Salt’s blistering 138-run opening partnership propelling them to an imposing 261/6. Narine, who was dropped on 16, made the most of the reprieve, smashing an explosive 71 off just 32 deliveries, while Salt cashed in on two missed chances to score a swashbuckling 75 off 37 balls.
However, their efforts were overshadowed by Bairstow’s batting masterclass, leaving KKR captain Shreyas Iyer to rue the missed opportunities. “Not defending hurts, but it’s a great lesson for the players,” Iyer conceded.
For Punjab, the historic chase not only rewrote the record books but also provided a much-needed boost to their campaign, lifting them to eighth in the standings. Bairstow, named the player of the match, paid tribute to his team’s resilience, stating, “Shashank has done it all season, a lovely guy and special player. To have someone like him coming in and do that is unbelievable.”
In a match that celebrated the relentless evolution of T20 cricket, Bairstow’s ballistic blitz and Punjab’s record-breaking chase will undoubtedly be etched in the annals of the game, serving as a testament to the unwavering spirit and audacious strokeplay that continues to captivate fans worldwide.
