Sunrisers Hyderabad relish chasing big totals, and 246 was not quite out of the realm of possibility. But the 2016 champions haven't been at their best in IPL 2025, where they lost four in a row, one of which was while batting second. But Sunrisers were back to their daunting best on Saturday night at home as Abhishek Sharma led the charge with his thundering 141 as the hosts completed a record chase with nine balls to spare, leaving Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer dumbfounded.
Abhishek produced a record-breaking century en route to the highest-ever score by an Indian in IPL history, as he and Travis Head came alive for the first time this season, stomping over PBKS's target of 246 runs with eight wickets and nine balls hand. It was the second-highest
After the match, when Iyer was asked what he felt could have been the match-winning total at the ground, he admitted being astonished at Sunrisers making the target look like a walk in the park. "I think it was a fantastic total, to be honest. Still making me laugh that they (SRH) chased it with two overs to spare," he said.
However, Iyer reckoned Abhishek was rather "lucky" in his knock after Punjab dropped him twice during the chase. "We could have taken a few catches, but he (Abhishek) was lucky. He was exceptional. In a nutshell we didn't bowl to our expectations; we have to go to the drawing board and make amends. The opening partnership (between Abhishek and Head) was phenomenal, they didn't give us too many opportunities to capitalise," he added.
Notably, Abhishek was dropped almost at the halfway mark in the innings, on the first ball of the eighth over when he was batting on 56 off 22. He had miscued a delivery from Yuzvendra Chahal, but with no one stationed at mid-wicket, the bowler sprinted and made an effort to grab the ball, but failed.
SRH beat PBKS by eight wickets
{{/usCountry}}Notably, Abhishek was dropped almost at the halfway mark in the innings, on the first ball of the eighth over when he was batting on 56 off 22. He had miscued a delivery from Yuzvendra Chahal, but with no one stationed at mid-wicket, the bowler sprinted and made an effort to grab the ball, but failed.
SRH beat PBKS by eight wickets
{{/usCountry}}Punjab started on a great note after opting to bat first, riding on a 66-run stand between Priyansh Arya (36 in 13 balls, with two fours and four sixes) and Prabhsimran Singh (42 in 23 balls, with seven fours and a six). Later, a half-century from Iyer (82 in 36 balls, with six fours and six sixes) and a final flourish from Marcus Stoinis (34* in 11 balls, with a four and four sixes) helped PBKS finish with 245/6 in 20 overs.
In reply, Abhishek and Head stitched a 171-run opening stand, before Heinrich Klaasen (21*) and Ishan Kishan (9*) put some finishing touches.