“You are playing against the best in the world”: Jonny Bairstow credits IPL 2022 stint at Punjab Kings for winning ENG vs NZ Trent Bridge Test

Jonny Bairstow has credited the stint with Punjab Kings in the IPL 2022 for his success in the Nottingham test against New Zealand.

The Nottingham Test was played with the red-ball, but the kind of cricket England played on the last day of the test was certainly of white-ball format. Chasing 299 runs, England achieved the target in just 50 overs to provide massive entertainment to the crowd around the world.

The way Jonny Bairstow batted in the 2nd innings was enormous, and the effect of Brendon McCullum was clearly visible. Bairstow scored 136 runs in just 92 balls, courtesy of 14 fours and 7 sixes. He had a batting strike-rate of 147.83, and he was also awarded the player of the match.

Jonny Bairstow credits IPL for Nottingham test success

Jonny Bairstow has credited his IPL stint with Punjab Kings for his success in the Nottingham test against New Zealand. Bairstow, who scored the 2nd fastest century by an English player in tests has said that people wanted him to play County Cricket, but playing against the best in the world is always helpful.

“There was a lot of people that were saying I should not be at the IPL and I should be playing county cricket,” Jonny Bairstow said.

“There are also elements to it where you are playing against the best in the world at the IPL. So being able to have those gears, to be able to go and switch them up, switch them down is important.”

Jonny Bairstow, an innings of a lifetime, one of the best counter-attacking 4th innings you will ever see.Well done England , Test Cricket is Best Cricket. #ENGvNZ pic.twitter.com/BV5dVzbIqk

— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) June 14, 2022

He said that he also wants to play FC cricket in England, but the current scheduling of the events is not favourable for that. Punjab Kings could not qualify for the playoffs, but Jonny Bairstow played some good knocks at the end. Bairstow scored 253 runs in 11 games in IPL 2022 at a strike-rate of 144.57.

Jonny Bairstow stated that he is excited to play under the new leadership of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, but he also acknowledged the work done by former captain Joe Root and Chris Silverwood during the tough Covid times.

“I’m excited for the next journey with Ben and Brendon, but also I’ve said numerous times we’ve also got to take into account how tough a job Joe and Chris had to deal with throughout Covid,” Jonny Bairstow added.