Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma continued to torment bowling lineups as they posted 266 on the board against Delhi Capitals (DC). The home side showed fight early on with Jake Fraser-McGurk smashing fastest fifty of the season but they could not capitalise in the middle overs and lost the match by a big margin of 67 runs. With their fifth win of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, SRH climbed to the second spot whereas DC’s net run rate (NRR) took a major hit and slipped to seventh position.
Record-breaking hitting in powerplay overs
Earlier, Rishabh Pant won the toss and opted to field first. Travis Head made his intentions clear with a six and two fours. In the next over, he did the same to Lalit Yadav. In the third over, he went after Anrich Nortje. The Australian hit a six and four fours to reach his half-century in just 16 balls. Abhishek joined the party in the next over hitting Yadav for two sixes. Abhisehk attacked Kuldeep Yadav with three sixes as SRH crossed the 100-run mark in the fifth over. The onslaught continued and Head hit Mukesh Kumar for 22 runs in the sixth over. SRH were 125 for no loss after six overs, the highest powerplay score in T20 history.
Mini-collapse after Head's power-packed knock
After the fielding restrictions were lifted, Kuldeep got the breakthrough. Abhishek had a chance to score fastest IPL fifty but hit it straight to Axar Patel. He hit six sixes and two fours in 12-ball 46. They shared a 131-run partnership. In the same over, he dismissed Aiden Markram too. Axar bowled the only over without a boundary. Heinrich Klaasen went after Kuldeep and hit him for two sixes. Head missed out on a chance to score another hundred. He departed for a 32-ball 89 that featured 11 fours and six sixes. Then, Axar dismissed Klaasen to push SRH on the back foot. SRH were 158/4 at halfway stage.
Shahbaz's maiden IPL fifty
Shahbaz Ahmed and Nitish Reddy helped SRH recover after they lost quick wickets. They crossed the 200-run mark in the 15th over. Kuldeep in his last over dismissed Nitish Reddy who scored 37 runs from 27 balls. In the penultimate over, Khaleel was hit for three sixes, including two off Shahbaz's bat. In the final over, Abdul Samad lost his wicket to Mukesh Kumar whereas Pat Cummins got run out. Shahbaz reached his maiden IPL fifty from 28 balls. He finished the innings with a maximum. The all-rounder's 29-ball 59 helped SRH post 266/7.
Fraser-McGurk's record-breaking fightback
Prithvi Shaw got DC's run chase off to a flyer with four consecutive fours but lost his wicket off the fifth ball bowled by impact player Washington Sundar. Bhuvneshwar in his first over dismissed a fit-again David Warner for just a single. Fraser-McGurk went after Sundar and smashed him for three sixes and three fours. Cummins took a beating too. Abhishek Porel hit two fours and McGurk ended the 20-run over with a six. After powerplay overs, DC were 88/2. The 22-year-old hit a six to reach his half-century from just 15 balls, fastest of the season. He hit two more sixes before losing his wicket. His 18-ball 65 was laced with seven sixes and five fours.
Pant falters in run chase
Porel targetted Shahbaz in the eighth over hitting one six and three fours. Mayank Markande got Porel stumped with a wide delivery. He scored 42 runs from 22 balls. At the halfway stage, DC were 138/4. Reddy in his first over dismissed Tristan Stubbs with a short ball. T Natarajan came back into the attack to get rid of Lalit Yadav. Pant hit the first six of his knock in the 16th over. The required run rate slipped out of the grasp in the slog overs. In the penultimate over, Natarajan got wickets of Axar, Nortje and Kuldeep. On the first ball of the final over, Pant departed as DC got bowled out for 199. Pant scored 44 runs from 35 balls.
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