Who won yesterday's (April 26) IPL match? Punjab Kings (PBKS) broke the all-time world record of the highest successful T20 run-chase, amassing 262 runs for the loss of two wickets to beat Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) with eight wickets and eight balls to spare at the Eden Gardens in match 42 of Indian Premier League 2024. (As It Happened | Scorecard)
Jonny Bairstow smashed a 45-ball century and remained unbeaten on 108 runs off 48 balls, alongside Shashank Singh who was not out on 68 runs off 28 balls. The match saw a mind-boggling 523 aggregate runs being scored and a world T20 record of 42 sixes hit.
PBKS' acting captain Sam Curran won the toss and elected to bowl first against KKR. The hosts' openers Sunil Narine and Phil Salt put together a 138-run partnership in just 62 balls which set the foundation, as KKR posted an formidable total of 261 for six. Narine smashed nine fours and four sixes in his 32-ball knock of 71, while Salt hit six sixes and as many fours to end with 75 off 37 balls.
Narine is now in second place in 'Orange Cap' race for leading run-scorers in IPL 2024. He has aggregated 357 runs in eight innings so far, behind Virat Kohli who has scored 430 runs in nine matches.
In reply, Punjab Kings' batters produced a six-fest, smoking 24 maximums to overhaul the 262-run target in 18.4 overs. Shashank bludgeoned eight sixes, only one less than Bairstow's nine. Opener Prabhsimran Singh hit 54 off just 20 balls in a match that saw relentless pummelling of the bowlers except Rahul Chahar (1/33 in four overs) and Sunil Narine (1/24 in four overs), both of whom picked up a wicket and went for below nine runs an over.
Bairstow was named the Player of the Match for his marauding century that helped PBKS clinically chase down the titanic target.
Brief Scores: KKR 261/6 in 20 overs (Phil Salt 75, Sunil Narine 71; Arshdeep Singh 2/45, Rahul Chahar 1/33) lose to PBKS 262/2 in 18.4 overs (Jonny Bairstow 108 not out, Shashank Singh 68 not out, Prabhsimran Singh 54; Sunil Narine 1/24) by eight wickets.
Points Table Update
With three wins in nine matches, PBKS are currently in eighth position in the IPL 2024 points table. Their next match is against Chennai Super Kings in Chennai on Wednesday (May 1) evening.
Meanwhile, despite the loss, KKR are in second place with 10 points from eight games, and take on Delhi Capitals next at home on Monday (April 29) evening.
