Follow UsMaking his debut for the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Jonny Bairstow made an immediate impact as he smashed 47 off just 22 deliveries against Gujarat Titans (GT) in the Eliminator, before falling to Sai Kishore. He had a chance to score the fastest fifty for MI in IPL playoffs, had he gotten there inside 21 deliveries. However, a relay catch between Sai Sudharsan and Gerald Coetzee saw him perish.
Bairstow was brought into the Mumbai playing 11 in place of Ryan Rickelton, who joined South Africa ahead of the World Test Championship (WTC) final. This is the third IPL franchise Bairstow has played for. Previously, he has turned up for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Punjab Kings (PBKS). He has played 50 games in the IPL for those two teams combined.
Riding on Bairstow's innings, MI registered their highest powerplay score this season, putting up 79/0 in the first six with Rohit Sharma. This included smashing Prasidh Krishna for 26 runs in an over.
Chennai Super Kings 100/2 vs PBKS at Wankhede, 2014
Deccan Chargers 84/1 vs DC in Centurion, 2009
Mumbai Indians 79/0 vs GT in Mullanpur, 2025
Bairstow registered a strike rate of 213.64, which is the highest for an MI batter on IPL debut.
213.64 - Jonny Bairstow vs GT in 2025
166.67 - Ambati Rayudu vs RR in 2010
151.43 - Yuvraj Singh vs DC in 2019
150.00 - Vishnu Vinod vs GT in 2023
Earlier, MI won the toss and opted to bat first. Other than Bairstow, Richard Gleeson also makes his MI debut. The winner of this match will take on Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Ahmedabad on June 1 (Sunday).