It won't be wrong to say that the major part of Sunrisers Hyderabad's (SRH) success story in
IPL 2024
has been written by their opening pair of Australia's World Cup winner Travis Head and uncapped Indian striker
Abhishek Sharma
, who has started banging on the door of BCCI selectors -- feels legendary Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh.
Abhishek smashed his third half-century of the season on Sunday as the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) rounded off their league-stage campaign with a four-wicket win over Punjab Kings.
IPL 2024: Results | Points Table
Chasing Punjab's challenging 214 for 5, Abhishek provided the quick start SRH needed, especially after Head departed for a first-ball duck. But Abhishek did not deviate from his attacking style of play and hit a blistering 66 off 28 balls, including 5 fours and 6 sixes.
However, Abhishek fell in the 11th over to miss out on a possible century. Heinrich Klassen then took charge with his 42 off 26 balls to ensure SRH finished No. 2 on the points table. They will now face table-toppers Kolkata Knight Riders in Qualifier 1. The winner of that progresses to the final, while the losing team goes on to play the winner of the Eliminator, which will see Rajasthan Royals take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
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Going into their playoff match against KKR, the Sunrisers will have high hopes from Abhishek to continue his good run, which has so far yielded 467 runs in 13 innings at a strike rate of 209.41, incluing a season-highest 41 sixes.
"Ye Indian team ke darwaze khatkhata nahi rahe, tod rahe hain, todne ke liye bas ab taiyar khade hue hain (he is not just knocking at the Indian team's door but almost breaking it open)," said Harbahajan, who was Abhishek's captain when he made his Ranji Trophy debut, talking on Star Sports.
"The kind of batting he has done in this entire (IPL) season, I don't think any other youngster has played this well...He has dominated with the bat. He hasn't bowled yet, which he is quite good at as well. He is a good allrounder," Bhajji added about Abhishek, who is also a useful left-arm spinner.
"I am so happy with his progress in the last 1 to 2 years."
Abhishek was first signed by Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) in 2018 when he was only 17 years old. He also played for the India Under-19 team that won the U-19 World Cup in New Zealand the same year. In 2019, he joined the Sunrisers.
The one big highlight of this season for Abhishek has been his 16-ball fifty -- the fastest ever by an SRH batsman -- in his team's 277 against Mumbai Indians, which is the highest total in IPL history.
"He was unhappy today (Sunday, against Punjab Kings) because he had a hundred there on a platter. He missed it. But the knocks he has played (so far this season), those have been impactful. He was a youngster when he made his Ranji debut for Punjab under me. I am so happy to see his progress, the way he has enhanced his performance. He is around that door to the Indian team now, one day he will enter it," Harbhajan concluded.
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