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IPL 2022: Jonny Bairstow Relishes Openers Role For Punjab Kings After Struggling At Middle-Order

Riding Jonny Bairstow's 66 from 29 balls, Punjab Kings posted 209/9 in 20 overs. In reply, Royal Challengers Bangalore could manage 159/9. His fifty came in 21 balls.

Punjab Kings opener Jonny Bairstow celebrates after his fifty against RCB in an IPL 2022 tie.
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Jonny Bairstow has not opened for England in too many matches in recent times but he is relishing his job at the top of the order for Punjab Kings in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. Riding on Bairstow바카라™s explosive batting, PBKS defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore on Friday.  

Bairstow's 66 off just 29 balls with the help of four boundaries and seven sixes laid the foundation for a 54-run win for Punjab Kings at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. 바카라œI am happy with the way I have transitioned to opening the batting. It has been very enjoyable being back at the top,바카라 Bairstow said.

Bairstow arrived late for this edition of the tournament and initially started in the middle order, where he struggled to find his groove. The team management then promoted him to the top and captain Mayank Agarwal moved himself down the order.

The move yielded result as after scoring one in his first match as opener against Gujarat Titans, Bairstow roared back to form with a 56 against Rajasthan Royals before Friday's 66. 바카라œIt's one of those days. A couple of those come off and it's your day,바카라 he said after the match.

Bairstow has mostly batted in the middle order in the T20Is for England in the last two years, though he has opened the innings in a few matches. He has also kept wickets when Jos Buttler was not playing.

바카라œIt's a completely different commodity playing for England and playing here. Through the middle, there's a job to do for England. Coming here, the stats suggest I quite enjoy opening the batting,바카라 said the 32-year-old.

Before Friday's match, Bairstow had scored 136 runs in eight IPL innings at a strike rate of 117.24 but he never thought he was having a tough time in the tournament. 바카라œIt depends on what you class as a tough tournament really,바카라 he said.

바카라œBecause obviously I have been caught at fine leg twice, third man once, and run out on 19.5 overs so there is a difference in being unselfish and it being a difficult competition.바카라 Bairstow was sensational on Friday as he scored 59 out of 83 in the powerplay, taking down RCB key bowler Josh Hazlewood. He reached his fifty in 21 balls. 

바카라œThere are many quality bowlers in the IPL and sometimes you have to try to get them off their lengths because someone like him hits that length consistently. So you have to try to get him off that length into areas you want to be hitting.

바카라œFrom the end he was bowling at, the line he was bowling was off stump. Just think that sometimes there is balls in your area, and you have to try to take advantage of that.

바카라œSometimes it is fine lines where you might get caught on the boundary, just inside the rope, or you might get a thin edge on another one. Today was a good day. Was happy to take advantage of the powerplay."

Asked if there was any game plan to attack the opposition bowlers, he said, 바카라œThat has generally been the ethos of how we have tried to go about all of the tournament,바카라 Bairstow said.

바카라œThat has been the way in which the guys want to go about the process of the game. You may have noticed sometimes we have lost wickets in clusters in the middle, which has stifled our progress on from there, but I think on the whole that was the way we wanted to try and go about it for a majority of the tournament.

바카라œIt doesn't happen all the time but if we can do it more often than not, then hopefully when a couple of people stand up we can get the job done.바카라

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