(Football news) Following Punjab Kings’ demolition of the record books with eight balls remaining, skipper Sam Curran wondered if cricket was becoming a completely different game.

“Cricket is turning into baseball, isn’t it? It was absolutely incredible,” Curran mused at the post-match presentation. “Where do we [start]? Absolutely delighted with two points. Games like that are out of the world, but most importantly we’ve had a tough few weeks as a team [this was Kings’ first win in five games] but we’ve really hung in there. We’ve taken teams down to the wire and, I think, forget about the scores… I thought we actually deserved victory.”

Because of the way hitters have elevated the bar for their hitting, reaching 300 runs has appeared more and more likely at various moments during the season. This season has seen seven of the top eight IPL totals, with PBKS coming in at number six thanks to their record-breaking run at Eden Gardens.

The contest on Friday also yielded the highest number of sixes (42) in a Twenty20 game. It exceeded the 38 hits recorded by Royal Challengers Bengaluru and SRH in Bengaluru last week, as well as by Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians in Hyderabad last month. Curran attempted to interpret the devastation.

“Yeah, I think loads of different things [have added up to this],” Curran said. “I think the way guys train is obviously huge and they can hit balls for a long period of time. I guess it’s the confidence, coaches and the way we’ve been training. Let’s be honest – small grounds with a bit of dew and the ball [gets wet] and sometimes you get a wide call. You think you’ve got a dot ball, you review it and then it’s wide. Then an extra ball. So, yeah, not saying it’s a batsman’s game but it’s showing… I’m sure everyone wants to keep seeing sixes. I think stats is definitely going out of the window. It’s all about winning those small moments.”

Curran was also happy with the way that Jonny Bairstow, the destroyer-in-chief that evening, recovered from a run of poor performances that had seen him dismissed from the team.

Like Bairstow, England’s winter in India has not been easy. Throughout his lengthy stay in India, he has been the only England player to participate in the 50-over World Cup, the five-Test series earlier this year, and the Indian Premier League, and he has failed to leave his mark.

However, Bairstow made his comeback on Friday, taking Liam Livingstone’s spot, and he quickly took off with the mass pursuit. 108 off 48 balls, eight fours and nine sixes later, he remained unbeaten.

“Really pleased for Jonny. He’s obviously been on tour for a really long time,” Curran said. “A couple of games out of the side, he looked like he came back really eager to score runs for the team and showed what an amazing player that he is. So, I’m really pleased for him.”

Shashank Singh, who blasted an undefeated 68 off 28 balls in an uninterrupted 84-run stand for the third wicket off 37 balls, also left Curran delighted. 

“We gave him that extra bit of responsibility to go in and No. 4 and he’s been the find of the season for us,” Curran said of Shashank. “Him and Ashutosh [Sharma] have been absolutely incredible and I’m just really pleased. Our group has been through a lot in the last couple of weeks and like I said, take two points and you’re going to enjoy those small wins. And it’s not a small win. It’s a really big win to come to Kolkata and beat that team. Proud of the team, proud of the coaches and proud of everyone.”

What was Bairstow’s game plan when faced with a chase of 262 on his comeback? “Try to whack it as far as possible,” Bairstow said with a smile. “I’ve never actually been in a game where 260 has been scored. Look, if it’s in your area, you gotta’ go. If you actually have a couple of quiet overs, which we actually did against Sunil [Narine, who finished with figures of 4-0-24-1]… [That was] because we know how important he is in their side and losing fewer wickets against someone like that is imperative to a chase like that.”

To top off a run of five straight home games, Kolkata Knight Riders captain Shreyas Iyer wants his team to respond forcefully when they play the Delhi Capitals next.

“To be honest, both the teams played tremendously and I personally feel that this is one of those games where you have to go back to the drawing board and see to it that you introspect on the areas where you went wrong,” Shreyas said. “Especially batting first and getting 260 on the board and then not being able to defend it hurts, but at the same time, it’s a great lesson for all the players, especially the bowlers. We’ve got one more game over here and it’s important we assess the conditions and come up with greater ideas.”

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