Featuring Bairstow tonight

In today’s IPL match, the Punjab Kings controlled the night with a world record chase of 262 against a totally bewildered Kolkata Knight Riders, thanks to a brilliant century from Jonny Bairstow that lit up the Kolkata skyline.

A target of 262 was overcome in 18.4 overs thanks to Bairstow’s unbeaten 108 off 48 balls, which was ably backed by Shashank Singh’s 68 not out off 28 balls and Prabhsimran Singh’s explosive 54 off only 20 balls. It was a steamy evening. Punjab’s batsmen sprayed sixes—24 of them.

Shreyas Iyer had no idea what was ahead for his team after Sunil Narine (71 off 32 balls) and Phil Salt (75 off 37 balls) destroyed Punjab’s bowlers earlier. KKR lost the match after Bairstow teased the hosts with exquisite shot-making.

Prabhsimran deserves all the praise for his brilliant start against the KKR onslaught on a level deck, which gave Bairstow some more time to orient himself. Following Prabhsimran’s exit, Rilee Rossouw hit a 26 off 16 balls, and Shashank, who was in form, hit eight sixes—just one less than Bairstow.

In addition, 523 runs and an IPL record 42 sixers were scored throughout the match.

These two record chases have now occurred at Eden Gardens versus KKR inside a span of ten days. On April 16, Jos Buttler, another Englishman, scored a 55-ball century to help KKR pull off a 223/6 defeat against the Rajasthan Royals. Up till then, RR had chased the IPL record twice, first against the Mumbai Indians in 2000 and again against the Kolkata Knight Riders.

really pleasant. Most significantly, baseball has surpassed cricket in popularity, don’t you think? The two points are fantastic, as said by Punjab’s captain Sam Curran. — PTI

Positive DC perspective on debilitated MI

New Delhi: The revived Delhi Capitals, buoyed by Rishabh Pant’s batting prowess, will want to keep moving up the IPL points table when they play the Mumbai Indians here tomorrow. DC has had a wild start to the season, with moments of exceptional play. However, they have risen to sixth place with three victories in their previous four games, and a victory against MI would bolster their case for a play-off position. PTI

Quick scores

KKR: 261/6 (Arshdeep 2/45, Salt 75, Narine 71) vs PBKS: 262/2 in 18.4 overs (Shashank 68, Prabhsimran 54, and Bairstow 108).

The outcome on Thursday

RCB: 206/7 in 20 overs with Unadkat 3/30, Kohli 51, and Patidar 50

SRH: 171/8 after 20 overs (Karn 2/29, Abhishek 31, and Cummins 31).