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Punjab Kings (PBKS) batter Jonny Bairstow scored the joint second-fastest century for his franchise on Friday.
The English batter accomplished this feat during his side's Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens. During the match, the vintage, hard-hitting Bairstow made his return after a lull in the first half of the tournament, scoring 108* in 48 balls, with eight fours and nine sixes. His runs came at a strike rate of 225.00. Bairstow reached his century in just 45 balls, tying with Indian batter Mayank Agarwal's 45-ball ton against Rajasthan Royals at Sharjah in 2020. South African batter David Miller's 38-ball century against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) back in 2013 at Mohali remains the fastest for the franchise. That century helped PBKS chase down 191 runs successfully with two overs to spare. Wriddhiman Saha also scored a 49-ball hundred against KKR in the 2014 IPL final in a losing effort. Coming to the match, Punjab sent Kolkata to bat first after winning the toss. Following this, Sunil Narine (71 in 32 balls, with nine fours and four sixes) and Philip Salt (75 in 37 balls, with six sixes) delighted the Eden Gardens crowd with an exhilarating batting display and obliterated Punjab Kings (PBKS) bowlers to power KKR to 261/6 in 20 overs. Arshdeep Singh led the PBKS bowling unit after he picked up two wickets. During the run chase, Jonny Bairstow (108), Prabhsimran Singh (54 in 20 balls, with four boundaries and five sixes) and Shashank Singh (68* in 28 balls, with two fours and eight sixes) played an unbeaten knock to chase down the massive target with eight balls to spare and script history. Narine was the only wicket-taker for the KKR. Bairstow took home the 'Player of the Match' award. Out of eight matches, KKR has registered five victories, collecting 10 points in the IPL 2024 standings, staying at the number 2 position. Meanwhile, Punjab holds the eighth place with six points after winning three of nine games. (ANI)
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