Kolkata: The way T20 cricket is unfolding now, not even Abhishek Sharma was sure of what would have been the par score on a parched Hyderabad pitch. So, he batted the entire 20 overs for the first time ever, hitting 10 sixes in a 68-ball 135*—his second best score in IPL— and lifted Sunrisers Hyderabad to 242/2.
His worries were unfounded though, as Delhi Capitals were restricted to 195/9. Nitish Rana thrilled with a 30-ball 57 but pacer Eshan Malinga (4/32) dismissed him and David Miller off consecutive balls to halt Capitals in their tracks before they crumbled slowly.
Eight out of nine times before this had Sunrisers won defending 200-plus totals. But this goes beyond any template now—SRH batting first in all their games so far, having mastered the art of building scoreboard pressure through their top-order batting. Tuesday wasn’t any different, and Capitals couldn’t do anything, either to peg the run flow or chase down the huge total.
Lungi Ngidi was craftily bowling cutters and slowers. Six runs from T Natarajan in the 19th over was worth its weight in gold as he blended in yorkers at will. But nothing uprooted Abhishek. With Travis Head (37 off 26 balls) and Heinrich Klaasen (37 off 13 balls), he ensured DC never found a toehold.
The early exchanges of Abhishek weren’t reckless, but they carried a quiet menace. A gentle clip off the pads here, a punch through point there—he was settling in, mapping the field, testing the bowlers. But it didn’t take long to shift gears. A slower full-toss from Ngidi was dispatched through mid-wicket, another overpitched delivery was lofted over the bowler’s head.
The introduction of spin didn’t slow him down. If anything, it accelerated his assault. Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav were both treated with calculated aggression. A tossed-up delivery from Kuldeep was lifted effortlessly over long-off, while Patel’s marginally short ball disappeared straight down the ground. With decisive footwork—he was either fully forward to smother the spin or rocking back in a flash to punish anything short—Abhishek was making spinners pay. Nitish Rana knows well, having been on the receiving end of five out of Abhishek’s 10 sixes.
As he crossed fifty, there was a moment of fortune. A sharp throw and work behind the stumps could have ended his stay, but KL Rahul faltered. From there, Abhishek grew in confidence, his range expanding with every over. The middle overs became a blur of boundaries. Natarajan tried to outfox Abhishek by targeting the blockhole, but he kept backing away to carve gaps through cover or slice the ball over third man. When Mukesh Kumar missed his length, even marginally, he was punished—one high full-toss muscled over long-on, another short ball slashed disdainfully behind point.
Nervous nineties? Not here. He surged into the 90s with a crunching extra-cover drive for a boundary off Natarajan before turning his aim on Rana. Too full, and Abhishek thumped it over Rana’s head for a six. Rana dropped the ball short, and Abhishek swivelled, pulling it high over deep mid-wicket. The milestone was met with emotion—arms raised, a glance towards the stands, a moment shared with loved ones.
But even in celebration, there was a sense that the job wasn’t done. The death overs showcased Abhishek’s maturity as much as his flair. Yorkers were dug out for singles, wide full-tosses steered expertly to the boundary. A standout moment came when a seemingly certain six was saved by Miller in the deep but he still couldn’t halt the momentum.
What defined this innings wasn’t just the volume of runs, but the control. Every shot seemed premeditated, every risk measured. Delhi Capitals tried everything—pace off, wide lines, spin variations—but nothing disrupted his rhythm for long. When Klaasen joined in, Sunrisers’ innings seemed nothing short of mayhem. Fourteen off the 18th over, 20 off the last, Klaasen made sure that it was a night that slipped away one boundary at a time for Delhi Capitals.
Brief scores: 242/2 (A Sharma 135, T Head 37, H Klaasen 37). DC 195/9 (N Rana 57, S Rizvi 41, E Malinga 4/32). SRH won by 47 runs.