Bairstow is the star of the record-breaking T20 chase

Jonny Bairstow achieved an unbeaten century, enabling the Punjab Kings to record the highest successful run chase in T20 cricket with an eight-wicket thrashing of the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League on Friday.

The England star achieved a remarkable feat, smashing nine sixes and eight fours in his 48-ball 108* to help Punjab surpass Kolkata’s 261-6 by eight balls to spare in challenging conditions at Eden Gardens.

Shashank Singh also demonstrated remarkable batting skills, scoring 68* off 28 balls with eight sixes and two fours.

The previous record for the highest run chase in T20 history was set by South Africa, who overturned a West Indies score of 258-5 in 2023.

Punjab registered just their third win from nine games and moved up to eighth place in the 10-team competition.

Bairstow, opening the Punjab innings, contributed 93 runs with impact sub Prabhsimran Singh (54 off 20 balls) and another 85 runs with South Africa’s Rilee Rossouw (26 off 16).

Prabhsimran was dismissed by a direct throw from Sunil Narine, who also contributed to the wicket of Rossouw in the 13th over.

Despite the two dismissals, Shashank continued to execute powerful shots, ensuring that Punjab did not lose their composure while attempting to achieve the challenging target.

Earlier, Kolkata made a strong start to the innings, with Phil Salt and Narine sharing 138 runs off just 69 balls for the first wicket after being put in to bat.

Narine, who was dismissed on 16, achieved a 32-ball 71, comprising four sixes and nine fours, before holing out to Bairstow off leg spinner Rahul Chahar.

England’s Sam Curran dismissed Salt, who hit a 37-ball 75 studded with six sixes and six fours after being dropped twice by sloppy Punjab fielders.

Venkatesh Iyer made a valuable contribution with a 39-run knock as Kolkata posted the highest IPL total ever at Eden Gardens.