Jonny Bairstow
Credit: PTI Photo
Jonny Bairstow lit the Kolkata skyline with a monstrous century as Punjab Kings owned the 'City of Joy' with a world record chase of 262 against a completely befuddled Kolkata Knight Riders in an IPL match at the Eden Gardens on Friday.
On a sultry evening in a parched Kolkata, Punjab Kings batters rained sixes --- 24 of them all as a target of 262 was overhauled in 18.4 overs, courtesy Bairstow's unbeaten 108 off 48 balls, well supported by Shashank Singh 68 not out off 28 balls and pint-sized Prabhsimran Singh's punchy 54 off just 20 balls.
When Sunil Narine (71 off 32 balls) and Phil Salt (75 off 37 balls) smoked the Punjab bowlers in 40 degree plus temperature in the early evening, little did Shreyas Iyer envisage what awaited fate awaited him and his men at night.
The night never belonged to Knights as Bairstow had earmarked the Friday night for his redemption with a 'Shashank' for company. No credit is enough for Prabhsimran, who started in earnest making a mincemeat of KKR attack on a flat deck, giving Bairstow some time to get his bearings right.
In context of last night's fireworks, let us take a look at the highest T20 scores chased down in T20 history, both domestic and international
262: Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Kolkata, IPL 2024
Punjab scripted history last night despite KKR's power-packed hitting that helped the latter put up a mammoth target of 261. However, it was not enough. PBKS chased down the total with eight balls to spare.
259: South Africa vs West Indies, Centurion, 2023
Before the KKR vs PBKS encounter, this was the highest T20 score that was successfully chased down by a side. Johnson Charles's 46-ball 118 laced with 10 sixes and 11 fours took the Indies' score to 258.
Quinton de Kock's 44-ball 100 and Reeza Hendricks' 28-ball 68 gave the Proteas' innings a fine start, which was backed well by skipper Aiden Markram and others, allowing them to reach the target with seven balls left.
253: Middlesex vs Surrey, The Oval, 2023
This match from the series T20 Blast 2023 was one for the ages. Will Jacks and Laurie Evans began the affairs for Surrey with huge knocks of 96 (65) and 65 (47) respectively, thus laying the foundation for a formidable total of 252.
Middlesex responded in kind, losing only three wickets as they chased down the total with panache.
245: Australia vs New Zealand, Eden Park, 2018
The fifth match in the Trans-Tasman Twenty20 Tri-Series between Australia and New Zealand proved to be a stellar show for the fans. Martin Guptill's ton and 76 by Colin Munro helped the Kiwis to a stellar total of 244.
Australian batters made easy work of the Kiwi bowling attack in reply, bringing up 245 with seven balls to spare.
243: Bulgaria vs Serbia, National Sports Academy, Sofia, 2022.
The top order of Serbia (who batted first) took the Bulgaria bowlers to the cleaners, smashing them all over the park to reach a total of 242.
However, the total wasn't enough, as Bulgarian batters fired on all cylinders to chase down the total comfortably, that too with four balls to spare.
(With PTI inputs)