NEW DELHI:
Jonny Bairstow
's outstanding century guided Punjab Kings to set a new world record for the highest run chase in T20 cricket history as they surpassed the 262-run target set by Kolkata Knight Riders with eight wickets in hand in the IPL on Friday.
Punjab Kings broke South Africa's record of 259/4 against West Indies in March last year.
In the IPL, the previous record was held by Rajasthan Royals, who chased down 224 against KKR at Eden Gardens recently, matching the record they set against Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in 2020 in Sharjah.
After being sent in to bat, Kolkata Knight Riders scored 261/6, but Punjab Kings chased down the target with eight balls to spare.
Player of the Match Bairstow said his aim was to whack the ball as far as possible.
"We got off to a good start and that was key. They got a flier themselves thanks to Sunil so we knew we had to go ballistic in the powerplay," Bairstow said.
"When you've to chase 200-plus you've to take risks in the powerplay. (How to approach such a chase?) Try and whack it as hard as possible (laughs). It was a case of if it's in your area you go after it. We wanted to lose as few wickets as possible.
Bairstow also praised Shashank for the manner in which has been batting this season and in this match.
"Shashank has done it all season, a lovely guy and special player. To have someone like him coming in and do that is unbelievable. His knowledge, he's not young either, he's nice and calm, full credit to him the way he came out and hit it cleanly."
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