England World Cup winner Jonny Bairstow scored a brisk half-century in the ILT20 on Wednesday (December 17).
Jonny Bairstow top-scores for MI Emirates
In the 18th match of the season, MI Emirates were asked to bat first by Dubai Capitals at the Dubai international Cricket Stadium. Bairstow and UAE international Muhammad Waseem put on 40 in 6.1 overs before the latter was dismissed for 17.
The former England wicketkeeper, who was on 22 off 19 at the time, then began to accelerate. His next 10 balls yielded 28 runs, as he tore into left-arm leggie Waqar Salamkheil and off-spinner Mohammad Nabi to bring up a maiden ILT20 fifty off 29 balls.
He hit the next two deliveries from Nabi for six, and moved to 63 off 32 before losing the company of Nicholas Pooran. Haider Ali and Muhammad Jawadullah then managed to put the brakes on the scoring, before the latter castled Bairstow for 67 off 40 balls.
Match 18, Dubai Capitals vs MI Emirates
vs
- Ball by ball Over
When Bairstow departed, the score was 99-3. MI Emirates' middle-order then crumbled, losing their next five wickets for 19 runs. They eventually posted 137-8, Romario Shepherd's unbeaten 18 the highest score after Bairstow.
Bairstow goes unsold in IPL 2026 auction
The knock continued a solid run of form for the England World Cup winner in the ILT20, having made an unbeaten 49 off 38 against Abu Dhabi Knight Riders and 31 off 23 against Sharjah Warriorz in his last two games.
Neither of those innings were enough to tempt an IPL team though. Bairstow registered for the auction ahead of the 2026 season, which took place the day before his ILT20 half-century (December 16), in Abu Dhabi. He was one of 11 Englishmen to appear, but went unsold along with Jamie Smith, Richard Gleeson, Daniel Lategan, Dan Lawrence and Gus Atkinson.
Bairstow, who has also played 100 Tests for England, made 248 runs and struck at nearly 157 in The Hundred this year. He played two games for MI Emirates' sister franchise, Mumbai Indians, as a replacement player in IPL 2025, scoring 47 off 22 and 38 off 24.
In yesterday's game, he ended up on the winning side as MI Emirates' bowlers, led by Rashid Khan (2-14 in four overs) managed to bowl the Capitals out for 130 and secure a seven-run victory.
Image credit: FanCode
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