IPL 2024 - Jonny Bairstow gets 100, Shashank Singh smashes 50 while KKR in search for wickets

After a period of underperformance and being benched for games as well, Punjab Kings (PBKS) brought back Jonny Bairstow for the game against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Eden Gardens in Match 42 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Fate seemed to smile upon the English batter as he went on to score a century in just 45 balls, hitting 8 fours and as many sixes to reach the milestone.

Not just him, even his partner Shashank Singh, who has been in top form, has been in top form, getting a fancy half-century. He has taken all the pressure off PBKS and the two are taking their side closer to victory.

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While bowler Sunil Narine maintained his usual excellence, taking a wicket and conceding just 24 runs in his four overs, the other bowlers struggled with both economy and wicket-taking. 

Fastest IPL hundreds for PBKS (by balls faced)

38 - David Miller vs RCB, Mohali, 2013

45 - Mayank Agarwal vs RR, Sharjah, 2020

45 - Jonny Bairstow vs KKR, Kolkata, 2024

49 - Wriddhiman Saha vs KKR, Bengaluru, 2014 final

In the ongoing clash, PBKS is chasing a target of 261 runs set by KKR. After 16 overs, PBKS has scored 228 runs and lost just 2 wickets. Punjab Kings require 34 runs from 18 balls to secure victory in this encounter.

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As for the Shah Rukh Khan-owned side, they got off to a strong start, with Narine smashing 71 off 32 balls, and Philip Salt contributing 75 off 37 balls. Venkatesh Iyer was run out for 39 off 23, while Andre Russell departed after scoring 24 off 12. Captain Shreyas Iyer managed to add 28 runs from 10 balls, while Rinku Singh (5 off 4) made a minimal impact.

Arshdeep Singh claimed two wickets for PBKS, while Sam Curran, Harshal Patel, and Rahul Chahar each took one wicket. Despite being expensive, Harshal Patel currently holds the Purple Cap for most wickets in the tournament.

Teams:

Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Philip Salt(w), Sunil Narine, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Shreyas Iyer(c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Dushmantha Chameera, Varun Chakaravarthy, Harshit Rana

Impact Subs: Suyash Sharma, Anukul Roy, Manish Pandey, Vaibhav Arora, Rahmanullah Gurbaz

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Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran(c), Rilee Rossouw, Jitesh Sharma(w), Shashank Singh, Ashutosh Sharma, Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh

Impact Subs: Prabhsimran Singh, Rishi Dhawan, Vidhwath Kaverappa, Shivam Singh, Prince Choudhary.