SunRisers Hyderabad’s opening batsmen, Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head, played very well against Lucknow Super Giants. They hit lots of big shots and scored runs quickly. The target score of 166 runs was easy for them to reach. They won the match in just 9.4 overs of batting. This happened in their IPL 2024 match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Wednesday, May 8.
After winning the toss, LSG captain KL Rahul elected to bat; nevertheless, the top-order hitters were slaughtered cheaply. Rahul too fell for a grueling 29 from 33 deliveries as Pat Cummins struck a stunning straight shot. Ayush Badoni and Nicholas Pooran then led the visiting team to 165-4 with an unbroken 99-run stand.
Badoni ended undefeated at 55. Bhuvneshwar Kumar performed admirably for the hosts, finishing 4-0-12-2.
But Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head were unstoppable from the start, blasting 107 in the powerplay. Head reached his half-century with only 18 deliveries in the fifth over, while his opening partner did likewise with 19 balls two overs later.
To end the match, Abhishek Sharma hit a six over extra cover off Yash Thakur’s bowling in the tenth over.
“All the credit goes to him” – Abhishek Sharma on Travis Head
The Indian southpaw talked with the local broadcaster following SRH’s 10-wicket victory and being undefeated on 75. He commended Travis Head for his incredible strike rate, saying:
“I would never think of coming to such a tournament and playing at such a strike rate, but thanks to the team management. The message was clear from them and I backed myself. All the credit goes to him (Head). The way he starts against all bowlers.. he goes after them from the start and takes the pressure off.”
Abhishek Sharma
With their sixth IPL 2024 win by ten wickets, the SunRisers have significantly increased their net run rate. However, they still need to win at least one more match to boost their playoff chances, since the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) also pushing for a spot..
