Jonny Bairstow smashed a scintillating 45-ball century to propel the Punjab Kings to a commanding position in their chase of a massive 262-run target against the Kolkata Knight Riders in the 42nd match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season on Friday. Bairstow was at his destructive best, sharing two crucial partnerships to propel PBKS past the 200-run mark in just 15 overs.
David Miller holds the record with a 38-ball hundred against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in May 2013. Mayank Agarwal also shares the second-fastest mark with Bairstow, having scored a century off 45 balls against Rajasthan Royals in 2020. Bairstow entered the IPL after a lean patch with England in the five-match Test series against India. He started well but couldn't convert them into big scores. However, PBKS retained faith in him, selecting him as an opener.
After initial struggles at the top of the order, PBKS dropped Bairstow. He returned to the team after they opted to leave out Liam Livingstone. Facing a massive 262-run chase, Bairstow anchored the innings. He shared a 93-run opening stand with Prabhsimran Singh (54 off 20 balls). He then partnered with Rilee Rossouw for an 85-run second-wicket stand. Following Rossouw's dismissal to Sunil Narine, Bairstow took charge, punishing the KKR bowlers to reach his century.
