ASIA

Historic T20 Win by Punjab Kings Secure with Record-Breaking Run Chase in IPL

Anjali

Kolkata Led by Jonny Bairstow's inconceivable hundred, Punjab Kings set a new world record for the loftiest run chase in the history of T20 cricket as they caught the 262- run target set by Kolkata Knight Riders with eight wickets to spare in the IPL. PBKS bettered South Africa's 259/4 against West Indies in March last year.

In the IPL, Rajasthan Royals held the former record for chasing down 224 against KKR at Eden Gardens recently, equalling the record they had set against also Kings XI Punjab(now Punjab Kings) in 2020 in Sharjah. Sent into bat, Kolkata Knight Riders scored 261/6 but PBKS completed the chase with eight balls to spare. KKR rode on a 138-run partnership between openers Phil Salt(75 off 37 balls) and Sunil Narine(71 off 32 balls).

The batters that followed the openers also consolidated the home team's position and took them to an assessing total. In reply, PBKS too were out to a great start and scored 93 runs for the loss of Prabhsimran Singh's wicket in the powerplay. Prabhsimran blazed down to a 20-ball 54 before getting run out. Bairstow continued his brutal onslaught to help PBKS pull off a stunning win. Bairstow(108 off 48 balls) was well-supported by the in- from Shashank Singh who smashed 68 in only 28 balls.