Match Center

Right then, that is it from this record-breaking encounter. We have a double-header coming up in the Indian T20 League on 27th April, Saturday. First it will be a clash between rivals Mumbai and Delhi that will start at 3.30 pm IST (10 am GMT). The second match will be played between Lucknow and table-toppers Rajasthan and that will begin at 7.30 pm IST (2 pm GMT), but as you know, you can always join us early for all the build-up to the games. Untill then, cheers and goodbye!

Jonny Bairstow is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH for his incredible match-winning ton. He says that they got off to a good start in the Powerplay and they needed to take some risk that paid. Adds that sometimes luck doesn't go your way but when you are chasing a big target you have to take some risks. Mentions that the mindset was pretty clear from the start as they had to go all out attack but they also played down Sunil Narine as he was a danger. Credits Shashank Singh for his knock and says that he has a lot of experience and kept his calm and it was a treat to watch his clean hitting.

Sam Curran, the victorious skipper of Punjab says that the win is pleasing and cricket is turning to baseball and says they deserved this victory after a tough few weeks. On high scores being achieved, he says that these small grounds with dew, coaching and confidence make all the stats go out of the window. Appreciates Johnny and says he keeps proving how good of a player he is and says Shashank is a true find along with Ashutosh Sharma and he is really pleased with these two points and proud of the team.

Shreyas Iyer, the captain of Kolkata says that the total was good enough and the way the batters batted was tremendous to see. Adds that Sunil Narine along with Phil Salt giving them the start was phenomenal and a treat to the eyes. Mentions that both the teams played well and they will have to go back to the drawing board and rectify things and with one more game here they will have to access the conditions better and come back stronger. Appreciates Narine and says there's a lot to learn from him and he is the MVP.

Presentation Time...

The man of the moment Shashank Singh is down for a chat. He says when he was in the dugout he noticed that the ball was coming onto the bat really nicely and he just had to play proper cricketing shots. Adds that he played Sunil Narine's over out with ones and twos and attacked the rest of the bowlers. Mentions that he has been given a free hand and is supported well to go out and express himself. Talks about the previous losses and says there were smaller moments that they failed to capitalize on but here Prabhsimran Singh gave them the perfect start and the way Jonny Bairstow batted was exceptional. Concludes that there is a lot of learning for him and they will look to take one game at a time and hope to change the table around.

Earlier in the game, Kolkata posted the highest-ever T20 total at the Eden Gardens. Sunil Narine and Phil Salt got a couple of good fifties while Shreyas Iyer and Venkatesh Iyer played decent cameos towards the end. Arshdeep Singh got a couple of wickets for Punjab while Sam Curran and Rahul Chahar chipped in with one each. While chasing, it was absolute carnage from Punjab. Jonny Bairstow's stunning ton coupled with smashing fifties from Prabhsimran Singh and Shashank Singh made sure that they etch their name in the history books.

Kolkata, on the other hand, well there is not much to say as when you score 261 and still lose in a T20, a lot of things went wrong for them. Every bowler was taken apart like anything and disappeared. However, the only positive was Sunil Narine. After his excellent fifty, he picked up a wicket and conceded just 24 runs, and forced a run out as well. They will need to go back to the drawing board and come back with a clear mindset in the next game.

Punjab got off to an absolute flier with both Jonny Bairstow and Prabhsimran Singh ​​​​​​ going all guns blazing in the Powerplay. They added 93 runs in that but unfortunately lost the latter due to a run-out but he did the damage with a fiery knock of 54 off just 20 balls. The Englishmen continued the momentum and and did not let the asking rate to go out of reach. Rilee Rossouw also played a nice little cameo to keep them in the hunt. Bairstow kept firing from one end and notched up an exceptional ton while Shashank Singh provided him excellent support as well. Both of them were phenomenal with their power hitting and it was a treat to watch them. Jonny Bairstow remained unbeaten on 108 off just 48 balls while Shashank Singh smashed 68 off just 28 balls and took their side to a historic win.

RECORD ALERT! PUNJAB CREATES HISTORY! This is the highest successful chase in T20s anywhere in the world. The ball just kept flying from both teams in this game and it is another Englishmen who took down Kolkata at their home. This is also the game with the most number of sixes hit in this format and we just have to applaud how Punjab chased this mammoth total with eight balls to spare. Kolkata have to erase this game from their memories as quickly as possible and move on to the next game.

That's it! Punjab have pulled off an absolute heist and created history! Ramandeep Singh bowls a full toss on off with no pace on it, Shashank Singh drives it to mid off and steals a quick single to wrap this game with 8 wickets and 8 balls to spare.

Another back-of-a-length delivery, outside off, Jonny Bairstow cuts it with an angled bat towards deep point for a single.

Drops the length short and hits the deck hard outside off, Shashank Singh gets across and pulls it to deep mid-wicket for a single.

SIX! There goes another one! Ramandeep Singh comes from over the wicket and bowls this fuller and outside off with pace off, Shashank Singh clubs it straight over the bowler's end for a six.

SIX! Jonny Bairstow you beauty! Rana bowls this full and outside off with pace off, Jonny Bairstow reads it right and just lofts it over long off for a maximum. Punjab just need 9 more runs to make history!

Lands this on a length, outside off, Shashank Singh cuts it to deep point for a single.

FOUR! They are now in a hurry! Rana overpitches this outside off, Shashank Singh gets across and slashes it past deep cover for a boundary.