Abhishek Sharma's 141 bludgeons PBKS as SRH chase 246 to revive campaign

New Delhi,UPDATED: Apr 12, 2025 23:28 IST

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) stunned Punjab Kings (PBKS) with an 8-wicket win in Match 27 of the Indian Premier League 2025 (IPL 2025) on Saturday, April 12 at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad. After opting to bat first, Punjab Kings (PBKS) posted a massive score of 245/6 in their allotted 20 overs riding on a splendid inning from captain Shreyas Iyer (82 off 36).

In reply, SRH chased down the target in 18.3 overs and recorded the second-highest chase in IPL history. Abhishek Sharma was the destroyer in chief with his breathtaking innings of 141 (55) studded with 14 fours and ten sixes. He was well supported by his opening partner Travis Head who scored a fiery 66 (37).

SRH’s chase got off to a breathtaking start as their famed opening duo of Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head came out all guns blazing and took on Punjab’s bowling attack right from the word go. Head hit a couple of boundaries against Arshdeep Singh in the first over while Abhishek whacked Marco Jansen for four boundaries in the second one to make his intentions clear.

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There was no hiding for Punjab bowlers as ‘Travishek’ were determined to make amends for their poor performances in the last few matches. The duo added 50 runs for the first wicket in just 21 balls and to make matters worse for PBKS Yash Thakur, ended up committing the cardinal sin of overstepping the popping crease as Abhishek hit him straight to the man at deep point.

As a result, the SRH opener was given a second life and he made Thakur regret it immediately by depositing him into the stands on the ‘free hit’ delivery. From there on, it was pure carnage at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium as Abhishek overshadowed Head with his belligerent strokeplay. The 24-year-old brought up his half century off 19 deliveries as an inside edge carried the ball towards the fine leg boundary.

Seeing Abhishek’s mayhem, Head was happy to play the second fiddle as he found occassional boundaries and was striking at over 150. After the seamers were treated with disdain by Abhishek and Head’s willow, PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer brought on his trump card Yuzvendra Chahal to stem the run flow.

The move almost paid dividends immediately as Abhishek ended up top edging him towards mid wicket but with no one present there, Chahal had to run and make a desperate attempt to catch the ball. However, much to his dismay, he couldn’t reach there and Abhishek’s innings continued.

It seemed as if a highlights package was on, as Abhishek kept on whacking the ball towards the boundary one after the other helping SRH reach the halfway mark in just nine overs. At the other end, Head also brought up his half century of 31 deliveries, making everyone rub their eyes once to confirm it was not a dream unfolding before their eyes.

Their opening stand was finally broken on 171 in the 13^th over as Chahal got rid of Head for 66 (37). However, there was no respite at all for Punjab as Abhishek brought up his maiden IPL hundred off 40 deliveries and came up with a special celebration dedicating his knock to SRH fans.

After completing his landmark, Abhishek continued to deal in boundaries and smashed records one after the other. His innings finally came to an end on 141 (55) as he flicked Arshdeep Singh to deep square leg. The southpaw was given a rousing applause as he made his way back to the pavilion

Earlier in the day, Punjab got their innings off to an explosive start as Priyansh Arya (36 off 13) and Prabhsimran Singh (42 off 33) added 66 runs for the first wicket in just four overs. Their stand was broken by Harshal Patel, which brought captain Shreyas Iyer to the crease.