Jonny Bairstow bats Punjab Kings team worth Rs 34 crore into submission

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On a platform set by Sunrisers Hyderabad bowlers, Jonny Bairstow thumped his way to an unbeaten half-century against a clueless Punjab Kings to seal the game. After winning the toss, PBSK decided to bat but the star-studded line-up was restricted to a meagre 120. Khaleel Ahmed and Abhishek Sharma, stifled PBSK batsmen for runs, taking 3 and 2 wickets respectively. Only two PBSK batsmen, Deepak Hooda (13 off 11 balls) and Shahrukh Khan (22 off 17 balls) could manage to score at a strike rate of over 100. While chasing the total, Bairstow 63(56)* and Warner 37 (37) put up an opening partnership of 73. At the fall of the 1st wicket, Bairstow was joined at the crease by the dependable- Kane Williamson 16(19)* and the pair knocked off the remaining runs without any further hiccups.

David Warner’s Rs 49.65 crore orange army drubbed Rs 34 Crores Punjab Kings, to register their 12th win over PBSK in 17 encounters. SRH is finally off the mark with this resounding 9 wicket win after losing their first 3 matches of the tournament.

Here is a look at the performance of players with big salaries in the match:

PERFORMERS

David Warner (Rs 12.50 Crores): After losing the toss, the SRH skipper instilled determination in his bowlers to nullify PBSK’s early advantage. The Aussie stalwart kept shuffling the bowlers and never let PBSK batsmen settle down. His decision to bring spinner Abhishek Sharma (2/24) into the attack with the new ball proved to be the masterstroke. With the bat, Warner scored a steady run-a-ball 37 with 3 fours and 1 six ensuring no damage in the early part of the innings.

Jonny Bairstow (Rs 2.20 crore): PBSK bowlers had no answers to Bairstow’s masterclass, as the English batsman humbled the bowling to scored his 7th IPL fifty in the match. His unbeaten 63 off 56 balls were studded with 3 fours and 3 sixes. Bairstow’s exploits with the bat earned him the Man of the Match award as well.

Khaleel Ahmed (Rs 3 crore): The lanky left-arm pacer swung the ball both ways and picked 3 wickets for only 21 runs in his 4 overs. To his distinction, Ahmed broke through whenever a batsman seemed settled at the crease, capturing the wickets of Mayank Agarwal 22(25), Shahrukh Khan 22(17), and Fabian Allen 6(11), in the process.

LAGGARDS

There were plenty of non-performers in the match. Notably, the high-priced PBSK stars disappointed their fans a great deal.

KL Rahul (Rs 11 crore): The leader of the kings, looked completely out of his league against SRH. Rahul struggled to find the middle of his bat and opted to hit his way out of struggle. Only to offer a simple catch to mid-wicket off the bowling of Bhuvaneshwar Kumar after scoring only 4 runs.

Nicholas Pooran (Rs 4.20 crore): The Caribbean rising star continued his disappointing form in this match. Pooran was run-out without facing a single ball of the match for a duck and couldn’t add to his total of 9 runs in this year’s IPL. This is Pooran’s third innings in 4 matches, where he didn’t trouble the scorers.

Chris Gayle (Rs 2 crore): The Universal Boss was dictated terms by SRH bowlers in the match. In an uncharacteristic 15 off 17 balls, Gayle managed to hit only 2 fours and looked vulnerable throughout. Rashid Khan continued to haunt Gayle in this match too, by trapping him in front of the stumps off his first ball. Gayle has fallen victim to Khan’s magic for the 5th time in his T20 career.

This was PBSK’s third loss on the trot and they find themselves at the bottom of the points table. They will face Mumbai Indians in their next match.