Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler give England hope after brilliant IPL tons

England selectors and fans have a few more reasons to be upbeat about their title defence at the T20 World Cup in June after the misfiring Jonny Barstow gave a timely reminder of his big-hitting abilities by smashing an unbeaten century during a world record chase in the IPL.

As the England selectors pick the squad for the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and US, Bairstow returned to form after being left out of the Punjab Kings team due to indifferent form.

Upon his return on Friday, Bairstow hit an unbeaten 108 off 48 balls to help his side pull off the highest successful run chase in T20 history.

Needing 262 to defeat Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens, Bairstow and find of the season Shashank Singh helped Punjab cross the finish line with eight wickets and eight balls left, breaking the record held by South Africa when they made 259 to beat the West Indies last year.