On Friday night, Eden Gardens saw history as Jonny Bairstow crushed a brilliant century to assist Punjab Kings in owning the City of Joy with a world-record 262 chase against Kolkata Knight Riders. The Punjab Kings batsmen hammered 262 runs with eight balls remaining, driven by the seasoned opener who had struggled to find his form before the game. He smashed 24 sixes in all.
Sunil Narine (71 off 32 balls) and Phil Salt (75 off 37 balls) dominated the Punjab bowlers on a steamy evening in a parched Kolkata, but the home team, who were expected to edge closer to another playoff qualification and take full advantage of Sunrisers Hyderabad’s defeat by Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Thursday, had no idea what fate had in store for them.
Punjab responded to the massive total with great force, as the openers blasted a 93-run stand in the powerplay, with Prabhsimran Singh hammering a powerful 54 off just 20 balls. Following Prabhsimran’s exit, Bairstow had capable assistance from Rilee Rossouw, who scored a 26 off 16 balls. Later, in-form Shashank joined the fray, smashing eight sixes in a match that was, in the end, a walk in the park. With Bairstow’s unbroken 108 off 48 balls and Shashank’s 68 not out off 28 balls, Punjab finished the chase in a mere 18.4 overs, staggering KKR.
With the victory, Punjab Kings were able to pass Mumbai Indians and climb to the seventh position in the standings. It was their third victory overall in the competition and their first in five IPL 2024 games. While this was going on, KKR held onto the second spot in the rankings, despite a notable decline in their net run rate to +0.972. It is still the greatest NRR for any squad in the league as of right now, though.
