'Had they batted first...': Sachin Tendulkar in awe of Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head's batting blitzkrieg in SRH's stunning win over LSG

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) delivered a masterclass in dominance, crushing Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by 10 wickets in their IPL 2024 encounter on Wednesday, May 8. Chasing a modest target of 166, the SRH openers, Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, were unstoppable. Their blistering knocks ensured a smooth victory in just 9.4 overs, leaving no room for contest. Apparently SRH became the first team in T20 history to chase down 160-plus target within 10 overs.

Abhishek, playing as the Impact Player, blazed a trail with an unbeaten 75 off just 28 balls. His knock was a whirlwind of power, featuring eight boundaries and six towering sixes. Head, batting alongside him, was equally destructive, scoring an unbeaten 89 off a mere 30 deliveries. Both openers unleashed a flurry of eight fours and eight sixes each. Where LSG batters struggled on a seemingly slow surface earlier, managing only 27 runs in the powerplay, Head and Abhishek thrived on it and cracked 107 runs in the first six overs.

Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma's batting blitzes leaves Sachin Tendulkar awestruck 

Their batting pyrotechnics left everyone in awe, even the batting great Sachin Tendulkar, who took to (formerly known as Twitter), to lavish praise on SRH's batting rockstars. He said that had SRH batted first, they would have scored 300.

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“A destructive opening partnership would be an understatement tonight. Had these boys batted first, they would’ve scored 300!,” Sachin wrote on X

How the SRH vs LSG's match unfolded 

Earlier, Bhuvneshwar Kumar's impressive two wickets helped restrict LSG to a moderate total of 165/4 in their 20 overs. Ayush Badoni (55*) and Nicholas Pooran (48*) provided some late resistance for LSG with their unbeaten knocks. This convincing win by SRH also sealed the fate of Mumbai Indians, eliminating them from playoff contention. SRH's victory was historic, achieving the biggest win in IPL history for chases exceeding 100 runs with 62 balls remaining. This surpasses the previous record held by Delhi Capitals in 2022, where they chased down 117 runs against Punjab Kings with 57 balls to spare. Openers Head and Abhishek were unstoppable, forming the second-fastest 100-run partnership in IPL history. They achieved this feat in a mere 34 deliveries, even surpassing their own record set earlier this season against Delhi Capitals (30 balls).

With this dominant performance, SRH climbed to the third position in the points table with 14 points, while LSG remained in sixth with 12 points.

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After the win Abhishek Sharma said:

“I would never think of coming to such a tournament and playing at such a strike rate, but thanks to the team management. The message was clear from them and I backed myself. All the credit goes to him (Head). The way he starts against all bowlers.. he goes after them from the start and takes the pressure off. The bowlers told us (during the innings break) that it was getting better, but myself and Travis thought it was not doing much. I think the hard work I put in before the tournament is showing now, thanks to Yuvi Paaji, Brian (Lara) as well and my father, who is my first coach.”

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