"Bairstow is finished" - Fans react as Jonny Bairstow departs for 8 off 6 balls in RCB vs PBKS IPL 2024 clash
Punjab Kings (PBKS) batter Jonny Bairstow once again flopped with the bat, this time against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 clash at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Monday, March 25.
The right-handed batter looked great for his consecutive fours against Mohammed Siraj in the third over but threw away his wicket while trying to continue his Bazball approach.
The dismissal came as Siraj bowled a short-length ball after two full-length deliveries. Bairstow went for the pull but failed to connect it properly as the ball went straight over the top of the cover. Virat Kohli and Glenn Maxwell got underneath the ball and the former completed the catch.
The English batter managed just nine runs off three balls in PBKS’ opening game against Delhi Capitals in Chandigarh.
The 35-year-old recently had a forgetful five-match Test series for England in India, where he failed to score a half-century in 10 innings.
In the IPL, Bairstow had scored 253 runs in 11 innings at a strike rate of 144.57, including two half-centuries last season. He was retained by PBKS for INR 6.75 crore ahead of the ongoing season.
Fans on X (formerly Twitter) roasted Jonny Bairstow for his lean patch with the bat. One user wrote:
"Bairstow is finished."
Here are a few more reactions:
PBKS opt to bat against RCB in IPL 2024 clash
Punjab Kings captain Shikhar Dhawan won the toss and chose to bat first against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Monday. Dhawan fielded the same side and backed them to continue their momentum after beating Delhi Capitals by four wickets in their IPL 2024 opener.
In that game, Sam Curran delivered with the bat, scoring 63 off 47 balls to take his team past the finish line.
At the toss, Dhawan said:
“We would have bowled first, but looking forward to batting first now. We did a lot of right things in the first game and that's why we ended up on the winning side. We have to keep improving each game. Same team.”
On the other hand, the Faf du Plessis-led RCB made a solitary change to their playing XI as Yash Dayal replaced Karn Sharma.
At the time of writing, PBKS were 61/1 after eight overs, with skipper Dhawan and Prabhsimran Singh at the crease.
Follow the RCB vs PBKS IPL 2024 clash live score and updates here.