IPL 2019: Top 5 Batting knocks of the Season
T20 cricket is often said to be a batsman's game. And a high-scoring T20 match is everyone's favorite form of entertainment, with batsmen going beserk and hitting the ball to all parts of the ground.
Ever since its inception, the Indian Premier League has gifted fans across the world with many high scoring thrillers, and the IPL 2019 was no exception.
There were plenty of matches this season when the batsmen took on the opposition's attack from the first ball and went on to play spectacular innings filled with some big hits thereby taking the game away from them.
Here are the top-5 knocks of the 2019 IPL season:
#5 Jonny Bairstow's 114 runs off 56 balls vs Royal Challengers Bangalore
Playing in his first IPL season, Jonny Bairstow had started off quietly notching 30+ scores in his first two games.
His partner at the other end Australian southpaw David Warner who was returning after a one-year exile had already scored two fifties in his first two games putting some pressure on the Englishman.
With the return of last year's Orange Cap winner, Kane Williamson, imminent Bairstow had his work cut out in his next match against RCB.
Opening the innings, Bairstow was quickly out of the blocks hitting two fours in the first over of the match against his countryman Moeen Ali.
By the end of the powerplay, Bairstow had scored 32 runs off 20 balls and in the process had outscored David Warner, something that only a select few batsmen can boast about.
He opened his shackles in the ninth over, facing a 16-year-old leg spinner Prayas Ray Barman and showed no remorse to the young bowler smashing him for two fours and a huge six as he reached his first IPL half-century in 28 balls.
He followed it up by smashing Colin de Grandhomme for two consecutive sixes as Sunrisers Hyderabad finished the first set of 10 overs at 105 for no loss.
In the 12th over, Bairstow targeted Umesh Yadav as he tonked him for a maximum over long-on and hit two fours on either side of the pitch to enter into the 80's.
Four overs later, he placed the first ball from Prayas Ray Barman wide enough of the long-on fielder to pick up a brace and score his first IPL century. He smashed the very next ball over long-on for a maximum and then finished off the over with another biggie in the same region.
Bairstow finally perished to Chahal, trying to hoick one into stands but his knock of 114 set the tone as SRH finished with 231 runs off their 20 overs. The opening partnership of 185 was the highest ever in the IPL.