Australia's ODI World Cup 2023-winning opener Travis Head made a sensational debut for Pat Cummins-led Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on March 27. Head made MI pay for the early reprieve. He smashed the fastest fifty for SRH, a record that Abhishek Sharma broke later in the innings.
Head reached his half-century from just 18 balls. He broke former SRH captain David Warner's record for the fastest fifty for the Hyderabad-based franchise. Warner had two 20-ball half-centuries. Also, Moises Henriques had scored a half-century from 20 balls.
The left-handed batter opened his account with a boundary off 17-year-old South African debutant Kwena Maphaka. In Hardik's first over, he was dropped at mid-off by Tim David, and the ball went for a boundary. In Maphaka's next over, he smashed two consecutive sixes. He followed the monstrous hit with two fours to make it a 22-run over.
In Hardik's next over, he smashed three consecutive fours. He took on another South African pacer in the powerplay overs. Gerald Coetzee was hit for two fours and a six in the sixth over. But Coetzee had his revenge in the eighth over. Head was dismissed for a 24-ball 64 that featured nine fours and three sixes.
Abhishek breaks Head’s record
In the 10th over, Abhishek broke Head's record for the fastest fifty for SRH and reached his half-century from just 16 balls. Abhishek scored 63 runs from 23 balls including seven sixes and three fours.
Head’s IPL debut and return
This was Head's second IPL fifty. He made his IPL debut for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the 2016 edition under Virat Kohli's captaincy. He played just three matches in the season where RCB were beaten by SRH in the final. In the next edition, he played seven games. His high score was an unbeaten 75.
He was released by RCB and wasn’t picked by any franchise in the auction. After his heroics in the ODI World Cup 2023 final against India, he entered the IPL auction and was roped in by SRH for Rs 6.8 crore after a bidding war with Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
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