But his team, Welsh Fire, lost the match by eight wickets.
Mumbai Indians (MI) wicketkeeper-batter Jonny Bairstow has kicked off The Hundred 2025 with a blistering opening knock against the Northern Superchargers at a fiery strike rate of 182.61. His 42 runs off 23 deliveries for the Welsh Fire included a total of seven boundaries. The gloveman’s Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 franchise, MI, might want to keep him in their squad ahead of the upcoming IPL 2026.
After being invited to bat first, the pair of Steven Smith (29 off 18) and Bairstow provided a brisk start to the Welsh Fire innings. But after the run-out of skipper Tom Abell (18 off 11), the momentum completely shifted towards the Northern Superchargers. They managed to put up only 143/9 on the scoreboard. Three of the Superchargers’ bowlers, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid and Imad Wasim, scalped two wickets while Tom Lawes and Mohammad Amir snared one each.
ALSO READ:
While chasing the score, the openers Zak Crawley and Dawid Malan put up a fiery show with their 67 runs off 38 balls and 41 runs off 29 balls, respectively. Captain Harry Brook (25 off 15) finished off the match with 11 balls remaining to start off their campaign on a high and register their maiden victory in the points table.
The 35-year-old replaced Will Jacks in the MI squad in IPL 2025 as the latter left for his national duties after the final league-stage match of the franchise. However, Bairstow just played two matches in the IPL 2025 playoffs and provided smashing starts to their innings in both of those fixtures. But as Bairstow joined the MI squad as a replacement, he cannot be retained ahead of the IPL 2026 player auction.
He notched up a fierce 47 runs in 22 balls at a blazing strike rate of 213.63 against the Gujarat Titans in the Eliminator. The keeper followed it up with a 24-ball 38 at a strike rate of 158.33 against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Qualifier 2. Unfortunately, MI lost the match by five wickets, which put an end to their IPL 2025 campaign.
Though the South African youngster, Ryan Rickelton, had an impressive debut IPL season while opening for MI in the previous season, the franchise may look for him as their primary opening option for IPL 2026 with their former skipper Rohit Sharma.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram, and YouTube.
