"Jonny Bairstow hi Jitendra Bhatawdekar hai" - Fans react to MI opener's blistering knock in IPL 2025 Eliminator clash vs GT
Mumbai Indians (MI) opener Jonny Bairstow put on a show in the team's IPL 2025 Eliminator match against Gujarat Titans (GT) on Friday, May 30. MI won the toss and chose to bat first at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur.
Bairstow dazzled the fans with his explosive batting in the powerplay. He took the GT bowlers to the cleaners, including the Purple Cap holder Prasidh Krishna. He struck three sixes and two fours off Prasidh's bowling, accumulating 26 runs from the fourth over.
The swashbuckling batter struck three sixes and four fours during his stay at the crease. He narrowly missed out on a well-deserved half-century, departing after an impactful 47-run knock from 22 balls.
Bairstow finished with a splendid strike rate of 213.64 on his MI debut. He replaced Ryan Rickelton, who has headed back to South Africa ahead of the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
Several fans lauded Bairstow for his explosive batting exploits in the crucial encounter. Here are some of the top reactions on X:
"Well played, Jonny Bairstow on your Mumbai Indians debut. Thanks for the entertainment," wrote a fan.
Jonny Bairstow scored 47(23) Runs in Eliminator Match. He comes as Replacement of Ryan Rickelton. Unsold in Mega Auction & comes in as Replacement in Mid Season. Never Easy to perform in first Match & it's Eliminator Match. Well Played," commented another.
"Next Mini Auction Mi Should Permanently Sign Jonny Bairstow," chimed in yet another.
"I was afraid who will attack Prasidh...Bairstow changed it completely," posted a fan.
Bairstow and Rohit Sharma got MI off to a flying start in the must-win contest. The two stitched together a brilliant 84-run opening stand in just 44 balls.
Jonny Bairstow's knock ended with Sai Sudharsan and Gerald Coetzee's stunning relay catch
Jonny Bairstow's entertaining innings came to an end in the eighth over. The keeper-batter perished while playing the reverse sweep against left-arm spinner Sai Kishore.
Stationed at point, Sai Sudharan showed great athleticism as he leapt in the air and palmed the ball like a goalkeeper. Gerald Coetzee completed the relay catch and Bairstow had to walk back to the pavilion.
Here's a video of the catch:
Kishore provided GT with yet another crucial breakthrough by getting rid of the dangerous Suryakumar Yadav in the 13th over. The dynamic batter was dismissed after scoring 33 runs off 20 balls.