Sharma’s scintillating strokes stokes Sunrisers’ sail

In a match that will long be etched in the annals of the Indian Premier League (IPL) history, Sunrisers Hyderabad pulled off the second-highest successful run chase in the league’s history, chasing down a mammoth 246 against Punjab Kings with eight wickets in hand on Saturday.

The architects of this record-shattering win were the explosive Abhishek Sharma, who slammed a career-best 141 off 55 balls, and the ever-dependable Travis Head, whose calculated aggression complemented the fire and flair at the other end.

The encounter between SRH and PBKS had promised fireworks, but few could have predicted the sheer scale of the pyrotechnics that would follow.

Arshdeep Singh, right, congratulates Abhishek Sharma for his impressive batting. AP

After being sent in to bat, Punjab Kings posted an imposing 245/6, powered by Shreyas Iyer’s commanding 82 and a blistering finish from Marcus Stoinis, who thumped four consecutive sixes in the final over to end unbeaten on 34 off just 11 balls.

The SRH opening pair of Abhishek and Head charged out with intent, though Prabhsimran Singh’s early boundaries in the first innings set the tone for an evening of brutality with the bat. But what followed in SRH’s chase was nothing short of remarkable.

Abhishek, who hadn’t hit a six in the tournament before this match, opened his account in stunning fashion. Facing Marco Jansen, he launched into three successive boundaries and followed it up with an effortless six off Yash Thakur — a shot that was soon accompanied by a stroke of fortune as he was caught off a no-ball and then dispatched the free hit into the stands. The aggression was unrelenting.

Head, meanwhile, played the role of the ice to Abhishek’s fire. While Abhishek flicked, pulled, and whipped deliveries over the ropes with nonchalance, Head anchored from the other end, picking gaps, rotating the strike, and occasionally punishing the errant deliveries. The duo brought up their 100 partnership before the halfway mark, and by the time Head departed for a fluent 66, the match had already tilted heavily in Hyderabad’s favour.

Abhishek’s hundred was not only his first in IPL but also came in just 40 deliveries, the fifth-fastest in the tournament’s history. As he raised his bat and pulled out a folded piece of white paper from his pocket — bearing the message “This one is for the Orange Army” — the stadium erupted. It was the kind of innings that doesn’t just win matches but galvanizes entire seasons.

Lucknow Super Giants' Nicholas Pooran in action against Gujarat Titans during their IPL match. Reuters

Earlier in the day, PBKS had themselves delivered a batting masterclass. Shreyas Iyer’s 82 off 36 was the backbone of their innings, stitched together with ferocious intent and deft touches. Nehal Wadhera played a crucial supporting role, while Stoinis’s explosive finish pushed them to a total that, in most contexts, would have been more than enough.

Harshal Patel was the only SRH bowler to walk away with respectable figures, his 4 for 42 a rare highlight in an otherwise forgettable bowling performance.

But SRH’s reply made Punjab’s fireworks seem like warm-up drills. It was not just a chase — it was a statement. A team that had endured four straight losses stepped onto the field with belief and walked off having rewritten the record books.

Abhishek Sharma’s innings will go down as one of the finest played by an Indian batter in the IPL. His knock surpassed KL Rahul’s 132 to become the highest individual score by an Indian in the tournament’s history. It also lifted Sunrisers from the depths of inconsistency and injected belief into a squad that had been desperate for a spark.

Earlier, half-centuries by Nicholas Pooran (61) and Aiden Markram (58) propelled Lucknow Super Giants to a six-wicket victory, with three balls to spare, over the table toppers Gujarat Titans at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium on Saturday.

After Gujarat Titans reached 180/6 in the first innings, powered by half-centuries by openers Shubman Gill’s 60 and Sai Sudharsan’s fourth half-century of the tournament, Markram walked out to bat with an unlikely opening partner in Rishabh Pant (21), with Mitchell Marsh not in the matchday squad due to personal reasons.

Agencies