Abhishek Sharma scored 141 off 55 balls to bring up his maiden IPL century
Swashbuckling opener Abhishek Sharma found his form back in the IPL as the Sunrisers Hyderabad opener annihilated Punjab Kings with his explosive 55-ball 141, his maiden IPL century, and helped chase down Punjab’s 246-run target with absolute ease and with 9 balls to spare.
It was absolute carnage from the SRH opener as the opening duo of Abhishek and Australian Travis Head meant business from the word go. Playing before a capacity crowd at home and with a mountain to climb after Punjab Kings posted 245/6 with skipper Shreyas Iyer dazzling with the bat yet again and top scoring with 82 from just 36 balls, the Sunrisers openers decimated the opposition bowlers and added 171 runs for the first wicket in just 12.2 overs before Head, who played second fiddle to Abhishek, was out after a 37-ball 66.
Abhishek was lethal with his power hitting as he clobbered 10 monstrous sixes and 14 fours in his 55-ball innings.
After reaching to his maiden IPL century, the Amritsar-born cricketer, a Punjabi who plays for Punjab in the domestic Ranji Trophy, proudly held a piece of paper on which it was written “This One Is For Orange Army’, as he dedicated his special innings to SRH fans.
Fans, meanwhile, went berserk after Abhishek Sharma’s explosive century and Sunrisers chasing down the stiff target which, incidentally, is the second highest successful run-chase in the history of the tournament.
Former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh, whom Abhishek considers one of his inspirations, took to social media to hail the southpaw’s explosive yet mature innings.
“Wah sharma ji ke bete ! 98 pe single phir 99 pe single ! Itni maturity ha am nahi ho rahi 🤪 ! Great knock @IamAbhiSharma4 well played @TravisHead24 these openers are a treat to watch together ! #SRHvsPBKS
@IPL well played @ShreyasIyer15 great to watch as well,” Yuvraj wrote.
“ABHISHEK 🧿♠️🏏 #abhisheksharma,” wrote Harbhajan Singh, hailing the special knock by the young cricketer.
Meanwhile, the left-hander also set a number of records in the IPL after his match-winning 141.
IPL RECORDS BROKEN BY ABHISHEK SHARMA
- Highest score by an Indian in IPL
- Highest score by any player for Sunrisers Hyderabad
- Highest score against Punjab
- Highest individual score in a run-chase
- 3rd fastest century by an Indian in IPL
- Fastest century against Punjab Kings
- Second fastest century for SRH (40 balls)
