The kind of hitting that occurs in this style, especially on a regular basis, astounded Sam Curran, the stand-in captain for PBKS. Curran thinks the sport is evolving like baseball.

Punjab Kings (PBKS) stunned the record books on Friday night at Eden Gardens by leading Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in an incredible 262-run chase. The hosts appeared to be in a good position following the conclusion of the powerplay, having been asked to bat first.

“Isn’t baseball evolving from cricket? It was amazing. How do we begin? I’m happy with two points. We’ve had a difficult few weeks as a team [this was the Kings’ first win in five games], but we’ve persevered. Games like that are unreal. We’ve pushed teams to the limit and, in my opinion, have forgotten about the results. “I believed that we were worthy of winning,” Curran declared during the post-game ceremony.

Thanks to scorching half-centuries from openers Phil Salt (75) and Sunil Narine (71), KKR appeared to have the match under control after amassing an impressive 261/6. But Jonny Bairstow’s outstanding 108 from just 48 balls gave PBKS other ideas. They knocked down the target with eight balls remaining and won the match by eight wickets because of the solid backing of Prabhsimran Singh’s 54 off 20 and Shashank Singh’s 68 off 28.

Very happy for Jonny: Sam Curran

Bairstow, the English opener, hit a memorable innings to commemorate his comeback to the PBKS XI. Bairstow hit eight boundaries and nine sixes after being dumped during a dismal run. His initial 93-run partnership with Prabhsimran laid the groundwork for the record chase.

Curran gave his fellow citizens credit for Jonny’s outstanding knock to get the side over the rope, saying, “Really happy for him. He’s been travelling for quite some time. He appeared to be returning from a few games away from the club with a strong desire to score runs and prove what a fantastic player he is. I’m happy for him, therefore,” Curran remarked.

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Although Bairstow was the star of the show, 32-year-old Shashank Singh (68 ft. 28) added another thrilling cameo to round off his breakthrough season. The last straw for KKR was his 84-run partnership with Bairstow.

The all-round player also gave Singh a lot of credit, noting that he has been playing well in the current IPL. “He’s been our best find of the season since we gave him that little bit more responsibility to go in and No. 4.” He and Ashutosh [Sharma] have been amazing, and I’m just very happy with it,” Curran said.