Abhishek Sharma dazzled under the lights in Hyderabad as his unbeaten 135 powered SRH to a humongous total. SRH showed what a dangerous side they can be, and with Abhishek looking in great touch, it augurs well for them. The others played useful cameos, but Abhishek was a class apart with an unbeaten 135 runs. DC bowlers had a night to forget and were all over the place.
Abhishek Sharma & Travis Head give SRH a rollicking start inside the power play.Â
Put into bat first, Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head came out to bat for SRH while Mukesh Kumar had the ball in hand for DC. Head got things going as he got a ball on the pads, which he flicked away to through midwicket and mid-on for a boundary. Nitish Rana was given the ball for the second over. Abhishek took the attack to him as he cleared his front leg and pumped it over mid-on for a boundary.
Mukesh continued as Head got into the act by pulling the ball along the ground through midwicket as the ball beat Rizvi at deep square leg for a boundary. Abhishek got into the act as he stepped out and gave himself room to cut it away through backward point and point for a boundary. Lungi Ngidi came to bowl the 4th over next. Abhishek took him on as he whipped it away through the midwicket region for a boundary. Abhishek hit another boundary away by slamming it over mid-off for a boundary.
Nitish Rana changed ends as Abhishek welcomed him with the maximum as he backed away and clubbed it away over deep extra cover for the maximum. Abhishek was unstoppable now as he cleared his front leg and tonked him over long-on straight down the ground for the maximum. The 50 came up for SRH in 4.4 overs, and of the partnership. Head went big next as he stepped out and smashed it down the ground over long-on for the maximum as 20 runs came of the over.
Ngidi bowled the final over of the power play. He bowled a decent over till the last ball, which Abhishek stepped out and lofted it down the ground over the bowler’s head for the maximum. At the end of the power play of 6 overs, SRH were 67/0 with Abhishek Sharma scoring the bulk of the runs, batting unbeaten on 42 off 19 balls, alongside Travis Head batting unbeaten on 23 off 17 balls.
Abhishek Sharma’s blazing ton powers SRH to a strong position in the middle overs.Â
Captain Axar Patel came into the attack post the power play. Axar bowled a decent first over in the context of the game. Kuldeep Yadav came into the attack next. Abhishek took him on by slamming the ball down the ground over the bowler’s head for a boundary. Axar continued as Abhishek completed his half-century off 25 balls. He got a lifeline as well, with KL Rahul missing out on a clean collection and the runout was missed at the striker’s end. Abhishek got a lifeline on 50.
Abhishek added insult to the injury as he stood tall and hit it straight down the ground for the maximum over straight long-off. Head then got into the act as he hit it straight down the ground over long-on for the maximum. Axar struck for his side as he dismissed Head against the run of play for 37 off 26 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes to his name. Head tried to pull and hit it straight to Rizvi at deep midwicket, who made no mistake. Captain Ishan Kishan came out to bat next, and the Time Out was taken as well, the first of the innings. He got off the mark straightaway.
Nitish Rana was now given the ball as the 100 came up for SRH in 9.2 overs. Abhishek completed 2000 runs for SRH. Rana bowled a decent over as SRH reached 104/1 in 10 overs at the halfway stage of the contest. Kuldeep changed ends and was welcomed back by Ishan for the maximum as he cleared wide long-on for the maximum. Ishan punished another poor ball as he got down on one knee and swept it hard behind square past short fine leg for a boundary. Abhishek got into the act and launched the ball down the ground over long-off for the maximum.
Ishan hit another boundary off the over by drilling it straight back past the bowler for a boundary past long-on. T Natarajan came into the attack for the first time tonight as Abhishek welcomed him by standing tall and whipped it away over forward square leg for the maximum. Mukesh returned to the attack. Abhishek showed his class as he shimmied down the wicket and gave himself some room before ramping it over short third man for a boundary. Abhishek went big again as the juicy full toss was muscled over cow corner for the maximum. The 150 came up for SRH in 13 overs.
Natarajan continued. Abhishek was given another lifeline when he was batting on 86 as Rana dropped a sitter at deep backward point. Abhishek went bang as he stood tall and played the lofted drive over extra covers for a boundary to enter the 90s. Rana came back to bowl the 15th over as Abhishek slammed him away by clearing his front leg and thumped it over the sight screen for the maximum. Then Abhishek went to his century as he short-arm pulled it away over square leg for the maximum as the hundred came up for the southpaw off 47 balls, his second IPL century and the 350th six for him in T20S.
Abhishek drilled it down the ground towards long-off for a boundary as Tristan Stubbs misfielded in the deep. Then, against the run of play, Ishan was run out at the bowler’s end for 25 off 13 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name as Abhishek hit the ball too straight and hit the bowler’s hand and onto the stumps. Heinrich Klaasen came out to bat and was at the non-striker’s end. Abhishek went bang as he smacked it down the ground over long-off for the maximum. At the end of 15 overs, SRH were 183/2 with Abhishek unbeaten on 115 off 51 balls while Klaasen was yet to face a ball. We again paused for the second Strategic Time Out of the match, the final one of the innings.
Late overs flourish from Heinrich Klaasen, powering SRH to 242/2.Â
Lungi Ngidi came back into the attack after the break and bowled a decent 16th over, with David Miller saving a certain boundary and dropping a tough chance when batting on 118, and the score was 188/2 in 15.5 overs. Natarajan came back into the attack as Abhishek shimmied to the leg side and pumped it over backward point for a boundary. Klaasen then played the reverse lap, it away over the short third man for a boundary. The 200 came up for SRH in 17 overs.
Ngidi returned to bowl the 18th over. Klaasen took him on and smacked it away down the ground over long-off for the maximum. Klaasen went big as he went inside out over a lofted drive over extra cover for the maximum. Natarajan came to bowl the 19th over. He bowled a good penultimate over. Mukesh Kumar came to bowl the final over of the innings. Klaasen got underneath it and pumped it away over extra cover for a boundary as the 50-run stand came up between the two players.
Klaasen then thumped Mukesh by standing deep and elevated it over long-off for the maximum. Abhishek thrashed the ball away by throwing his bat at it, and the ball flew towards the backward point for a boundary. Klaasen finished things off in style as he battered it away over backward point and galloped it away to the boundary. 20 runs came off the final over as SRH finished with 242/2 in 20 overs, with Abhishek carrying his bat scoring an unbeaten 135 off 68 balls, while Klaasen was unbeaten on 37 off 13 balls with 3 fours and 3 sixes to his name. 8 extras given by the fielding side.
It was a tough night for the DC bowlers; Axar Patel picked up 1/23 in 2 overs. There was one run out in the innings. Mukesh Kumar finished with 0/53 in 4 overs. Nitish Rana bowled 4 overs for 55 runs. Lungi Ngidi finished with 0/41 in 4 overs. Kuldeep Yadav finished with 0/30 in 2 overs. T. Natarajan finished with 0/40 in 4 overs. This meant that DC needed a mammoth 243 runs to win off 20 overs.
Who’s Winning, SRH or DC?Â
SRH has got the runs on the board. It’s a huge total of 242 runs. But it’s not safe on a flat batting track. But DC has to bat out of their skins to win this contest from here. At the interval, it is SRH who will be the happier of the two sides. Let’s see how the chase unfolds for all of us.
Also Read:Â SRH vs DC: Powerplay Fireworks Expected As SRH Host Resurgent DC