Kolkata Knight Riders fans and management would be licking their lips after seeing Tom Banton smash it all around the park on Friday at the Carrara Oval in Queensland for Brisbane Heat. Banton smacked a quickfire 36-ball 64 for the Heats against the Melbourne Stars in the fifth match of the Big Bash League.
Banton, 21, who was picked up by KKR at his base price of INR 1 crore surprisingly, reached his fifty off just 29 balls with a collosal maximum off Adam Zampa in the eighth over of the Heat innings in their chase of 168.
Opening the batting with Max Bryant, Banton took the onus upon himself despite Brisbane losing the former early. He took on the bowlers and played some extravagant shots as former Knight Chris Lynn watched on from the other end. Banton showed glimpses of his power-hitting and 360 capabilities with some reverse sweep and slog sweeping up for display as the Heats were off to a flyer in their chase despite being a wicket down.
However, he couldn't go on longer and was dismissed for 64 while trying to take on Zampa on one ocassion too many. But, his display against both pace and spin would make KKR fans happy, especially after they learnt that the two-time champions are not holding on to Lynn, who was snapped up by Mumbai Indians at his base price of INR 2 crore.
Banton hit six fours and four maximum at a strike-rate of 177.78.
Earlier, Stars captain Glenn Maxwell also showed his class with a 39-ball 83, hitting seven fours and five sixes at a strike-rate of 212.82.
Maxwell, who is making a return to competitive cricket after a one-and-a-half month break due to mental illness, was snapped up by his former team Kings XI Punjab for a whopping INR 10.75 crore after overcoming a bidding war with another one of his former employers in Delhi.
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