Abhishek hits ton as Sunrisers post a mammoth 242 against Delhi Capitals

Abhishek Sharma smashed a brilliant 138 off 68 balls as Sunrisers Hyderabad posted 242/2 against Delhi Capitals. Supported by Travis Head and Heinrich Klaasen, SRH dominated with aggressive batting and built a strong platform in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma continued his rollicking form, smashing his second IPL century, scoring 138 off 68 balls, laced with 10 fours and an equal number of sixes, as SRH posted a mammoth 242/2 in 20 overs after being put into bat by Delhi Capitals here on Tuesday.

SRH’s explosive duo of Abhishek and Travis Head began cautiously after Ishan Kishan lost the toss for the third consecutive time, before exploding in the fifth over off Nitish Rana, who was hit for 20 runs, including three sixes, two by Abhishek and the other by Head.

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At the end of the powerplay, SRH managed 67. Abhishek was more dominant, reaching his fifty with five fours and two sixes, while Head was rather subdued before being dismissed for 37 (26 balls, 2x4s; 2x6s). The opening pair added 97 runs in 8.5 overs. At the end of 10 overs, SRH reached 104/1.

The arrival of Ishan Kishan saw the SRH scoreboard galloping, with the SRH captain hitting Kuldeep for a six and a four, and Abhishek too followed with a six and a four. Kuldeep’s over cost him 22 runs. Abhishek scored at will, lofting, driving and pulling the Delhi bowlers, no matter what bowling changes the Delhi captain made. Though he got a reprieve at 86 when he was dropped by Rana off Natarajan, the sea of orange at the Uppal Stadium was treated to explosive batting by the southpaw.

As he went after the Delhi bowlers, SRH suffered a mild setback when a straight drive from Abhishek was deflected onto the stumps by Rana, catching Ishan out of the crease in the 14th over. But this did not deter Abhishek, who was joined by Heinrich Klaasen as he continued to find the fence. Both added 50 runs in 27 balls. The 19th over saw Delhi’s Natarajan pull things back slightly by conceding just six runs. Klaasen, with 37 (13 balls, 3x4s; 3x6s), added the finishing touch as Sunrisers posted a massive total.