Hyderabad, May 8
The remorseless domination of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, who carved lightning fast fifties, helped Sunrisers Hyderabad mount the fastest chase of a 160-plus target en route their convincing 10-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL match here today.
Chasing a modest target of 166, Head (89 not out, 30 balls, 8×4, 8×6) and Sharma (75 not out, 28 balls, 8×4, 6×6) toyed with LSG bowlers, finding boundaries and sixes at will to canter home in just 9.4 overs.
“Nice to get 360 and get to the parts of the ground I have not been to. Dan and Pat have asked me to play that way. We want to maximise the powerplay. It is not going to work every time but we want to go for it,” said Head.
The win propelled SRH to the third position in the standings with 14 points from 12 games, while LSG are struggling at the sixth spot with 12 points from the same number of matches.
The result also meant that five-time champions Mumbai Indians, currently ninth with eight points from 12 matches, are out of the playoff race.
The dance of destruction by Head and Sharma even left the legendary Sachin Tendulkar gushing.
“A destructive opening partnership would be an understatement tonight. Had these boys batted first, they would’ve scored 300,” Tendulkar posted online.
The Head and Sharma show came after SRH bowlers started brilliantly before losing the plot a bit.
Ayush Badoni (55 not out off 30 balls) and Nicholas Pooran (48 not out off 25 balls) stitched crucial 95 runs off 55 balls for the unbeaten fifth-wicket stand to guide LSG to 165/4. But Head and Sharma took any hint of competition out of the match once they bludgeoned 107 runs in the powerplay.
“Thanks to the management for the faith they’ve shown in me, the environment is clear for the batters so I went to enjoy myself. All the credit to Travis, the way he starts, first two or three balls goes to the boundaries. So I just react to the ball,” Sharma said. — PTI
Brief scores
LSG: 165/4 in 20 overs (Pooran 48*, Badoni 55*; Bhuvneshwar 2/12) vs SRH: 167/0 in 9.4 overs (Head 89*; Abhishek 75*)
Tuesday’s result
DC: 221/8 in 20 overs (Fraser-McGurk 50, Porel 65; Ashwin 3/24) vs RR: vs 201/8 in 20 overs (Samson 86; Kuldeep 2/25, Khaleel 2/47, Mukesh 2/30)