Veteran India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin was full of praise for Abhishek Sharma after the Sunrisers Hyderabad opener turned the tide in his battle with Matthew Short during the Southern derby in IPL 2026 on Saturday. Abhishek came out all guns blazing, bringing up a 15-ball fifty that put Chennai Super Kings on the back foot right from the powerplay.
CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad handed Matthew Short the new ball, trusting his off-spin to challenge Abhishek and Travis Head early on. The move seemed to work initially, with Short conceding just 13 runs in his first two overs and keeping things tight. However, Gaikwad’s decision to persist with him for a third over proved costly. Sensing an opportunity, Abhishek shifted gears and took control of the contest. He went after Short aggressively, collecting 24 runs off the last five balls he faced from him, smashing three fours and two sixes. The onslaught not only broke the pressure but also decisively swung the match-up in Abhishek’s favour.
Ashwin reflected on Abhishek’s stunning assault on Matthew Short, highlighting the quality of shot-making and the difficulty of the match-up. He pointed out how Abhishek’s fearless approach and range caught the off-spinner off guard in a crucial phase.
“Finally, he got out on the ball, which was on the stumps. But that over he took down Matt Short was special batting up enough because I haven’t seen a lot of players who can hit the ball standing from afar. These are like that one was in the slot, but this one was away from him, arched back and just took it down. These are special shots, and for someone like Matt Short, who’s coming into his first game, bowling to someone like Abhishek Sharma is not easy. He’s a left-hander, a typical match-up for an off-spinner. He wouldn’t have expected that,” Ashwin said on JioHotstar in the pre-match show.
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SRH post 194/5 in 20 overs
Meanwhile, just after Abhishek brought up his fastest IPL fifty off 15 balls, SRH suffered a mini-collapse, losing two wickets in the very next over. Left-arm seamer Mukesh Choudhary (2/21 in 2 overs) removed Travis Head (23 off 20) and skipper Ishan Kishan (0) off the final two deliveries of the powerplay. Abhishek, too, fell soon after for 59, forcing Heinrich Klaasen to step up with a crucial half-century to guide SRH to a competitive 194/9 in 20 overs.