Jonny Bairstow put on quite the show at Antigua against West Indies Cricket Board President XI during England tour of West Indies. His mature 106* (158) took England to a first innings total of 466/6d.

After choosing to bat first, England rode on a very steady start provided by Alex Lees and Zak Crawley, who scored 65 and 62 each. Captain Joe Root came in at the fall of Crawley’s wicket at 88 and scored a handy half-century to put England on the front foot.

Bairstow, who will soon don the Punjab Kings colours, came in at the fall of the fourth wicket at 234 runs. He capitalised on the good start provided by the team’s top order as he got a solid century.

The wicketkeeper-batter’s 106* came in 158 balls and consisted of 13 fours and one maximum. His innings allowed England to declare the first innings at 466. Currently, at the end of Day 3, the team is on 77/3 after already bowling West Indies Cricket Board President XI for 264 in the first innings.

England came into this series with a 4-0 loss against Australia in the Ashes. This good start in the practice game is bound to give them a much-needed confidence boost before the commencement of the Test series.

Punjab boys pack a punch in Ranji Trophy

In the ongoing Ranji Trophy match between Punjab and Tripura, Baltej Singh and Arshdeep Singh put up impressive performances with the ball to help their team stay alive in the match.

Batting first, Tripura was bowled out for 127 in 54.4 overs, mostly riding on Baltej Singh’s five-wicket haul. This was his second fifer and both have come in Ranji Trophy 2022.

Baltej ended the first innings with numbers 13.4-3-33-5. He accounted for the important wicket of Tripura’s captain KB Pawan, who was going good at 59 (128) before Baltej ended his innings.

The twist came when Tripura, in return, bowled Punjab out for just 120, taking over batting for the second time just two days through the match.

This time, it was the other Punjab Kings player who gave Tripura a tough time. Pacer Arshdeep Singh claimed his first five-wicket haul in First-Class cricket to restrict Tripura to 232 at Stumps, Day 2.

Arshdeep finished the second innings with figures 20-9-33-5. Three out of his five wickets were balls that landed in the safe hands of wicketkeeper Anmol Malhotra, including the opposition captain’s scalp.

With two days to go and 232 runs to chase, the duo’s performance has given Punjab an opportunity to fight for a win.