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Mumbai Indians Star Continues Run-scoring Spree, Makes Strong Case Ahead of IPL 2026 Auction

Sreejita Sen

Last updated: August 17, 2025

2 min read

Star Mumbai Indians (MI) wicketkeeper-batter Jonny Bairstow once again put up a fierce knock for the Welsh Fire in The Hundred 2025. He is currently leading the top run-scorer’s list with 178 runs in four matches so far, at a blistering strike rate of 171.15. This ongoing purple patch might earn a massive deal for the discarded star in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction.

Oval Invincibles vs Welsh Fire

The reigning champions, Oval Invincibles, have started their 2025 campaign from where they left off in the previous season. After being put to bat first, they notched up a mammoth 226/4. This is also the highest ever total of the tournament so far. Every batter contributed with a strike rate of 150-plus, except for opener Will Jacks, who scored a 28-ball 38.

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However, both of Welsh’s openers, Steve Smith and Stephen Eskinazi, were dismissed early in the innings. But coming in at No.3, their usual opener Bairstow lit up the field with five boundaries and three sixes. He scored a pulsating half-century off just 28 balls at a fiery strike rate of 178.57. Luke Wells and Tom Kohler-Cadmore also put up a fight with their 29(18) and 31(16), respectively, but a lower-order collapse ensured Invincibles’ win by 83 runs while defending the huge total on the board.

Jonny Bairstow Might Cause Bidding War in IPL 2026 Auction

The 35-year-old keeper-batter had gone unsold in the IPL 2025 auction. However, the English gloveman still got a chance to feature in the latest edition of the cash-rich league after joining MI’s squad as a temporary replacement ahead of the IPL 2025 playoffs.

Bairstow grabbed that chance with both hands and scored 85 runs in just two knock-out matches at a fiery strike rate of 184.78. The Yorkshire batter also continued this blazing momentum in the following T20 Blast 2025 to put up 172 runs in five matches, including a highest score of 116 against Lancashire.

After these recent heroics and the ongoing blistering knocks in The Hundred 2025, many IPL franchises including his latest team MI, would be keen to rope him into their squad before the upcoming IPL 2026.