England’s discarded opener Jonny Bairstow went berserk in the SA20 League match between Sunrisers Eastern Cape and Pretoria Capitals on January 5. Bairstow smashed South Africa’s T20 World Cup 2026-bound left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj for 34 runs in an over, including five sixes.
In the 12th over of the run chase, Bairstow hit Maharaj for a six over deep mid-wicket to reach his century from 34 balls. Till then, Quinton de Kock scored at a faster pace than Bairstow. Then, Maharaj pitched it up and Bairstow slog-swept it for a huge 92-metre six. The left-arm spinner bowled his stock delivery which was slogged over mid-wicket again. The slog sweep continued. On the fourth ball, he could not hit a six but managed a boundary towards deep square leg.
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As Sunrisers had 10 wickets in hand, Bairstow did not shy away from taking the aerial route again. He whacked Maharaj's full delivery for a six over long-on fence. The Proteas skipper bowled it full on the stumps again but Bairstow took his foot out of the way and muscled it over the bowler's head for another six. The 34-run over is the most expensive over in SA20 history.
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Easy win for Sunrisers
Bairstow and De Kock continued to dominate and Sunrisers chased down the target of 177 with 10 wickets in hand and 34 balls to spare. Bairstow remained unbeaten for 85 off 45 deliveries, including eight fours and six sixes. On the other end, De Kock hit six sixes and five fours in his 41-ball 79. This is Sunrisers’ third win in the season. It helped them climb to the top of the points table. De Kock was named ‘Player of the match’ for taking the game away from Capitals early on in the run chase.
Maharaj on his forgettable outing
“It just didn't go our way. I think we could have tried bowling around the stumps. And then obviously with the length, we saw that just hit back of the length, felt we were a touch too full at the start. But it's just one of those days that happens, unfortunately. Obviously we've got to dust ourselves off and bounce back really quickly,” Maharaj said in the post-match presentation.
De Kock over Bairstow for MI
Bairstow had registered himself at a base price of Rs 1 crore for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 mini-auction. He did not find any takers. Coincidentally, his Sunrisers opening partner De Kock had the same base price and Mumbai Indians (MI) roped him in. The Englishman was MI's temporary replacement in the previous season. He scored 85 runs from two innings at a strike rate of 184.78.
In addition, Bairstow has fallen off the radar of English selectors. He was not considered for England’s T20 World Cup 2026 squad.