Speaking after the game in the post-match presentation, Abhishek said, “I said in the previous interview too, the domestic season gives us a lot of confidence. The message for the batters is simple – go out and express yourself. The plan was to attack, I enjoyed batting with Head, he is one of my favourite batters, and I admire him. He told me to go for it if it was in my zone. I am happy to be getting my chances, does not matter what position I am playing. I had a chance to talk to Brian Lara last night and that helped me massively. I would rather bowl more in practice than bat, trying my best with bowling as well.”

Abhishek came into this IPL following a great Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament for Punjab last year, ending the tournament as the second-highest scorer with 485 runs at an average of 48.50 and a strike rate of over 192, with two centuries and three fifties in 10 innings.

In his IPL appearances this year, he has managed knocks of 63 against SRH and 32 against Kolkata Knight Riders (SRH) in the campaign opener. Though he had a fine IPL 2022, scoring 426 runs in 14 matches at an average of 30.43 and a strike rate of over 133, including two fifties, he could not get much better opportunities to bat next year due to team combinations, batting down the order, and making 226 runs in 11 matches. He is with the SRH franchise since 2019, after a brief stint with Delhi Capitals back in 2018.

 

Coming to the match, Sunrisers Hyderabad was put to bat first by Mumbai Indians. MI got Mayank Agarwal (11) early. But fiery knocks came from Travis Head (62 in 24 balls, with nine fours and three sixes), Abhishek Sharma (63 in 23 balls with three fours and seven sixes) that powered SRH to 148/2 in their 10 overs. Abhishek-Head put on a 68-run partnership for the second wicket.

Following a brief 48-run stand between Abhishek and Aiden Markram (42* in 28 balls, with two fours and a six), Heinrich Klaasen (80* in 34 balls, with four boundaries and seven sixes) formed a 116-run stand in 54 balls to take SRH to 277/3 in their 20 overs, the highest-ever IPL total.

Gerald Coetzee (1/57), skipper Hardik Pandya (1/46) and Piyush Chawla (1/34) took wickets for MI. South African U19 star Kwena Maphanka was hit for 66 runs on his debut IPL game in his four overs.

Chasing 278, openers Rohit Sharma (26 in 12 balls, with a four and three sixes) and Ishan Kishan (34 in 13 balls, with two fours and three sixes) gave MI a fine start, racing to 56 in 3.2 overs.

After both openers were dismissed, Naman Dhir (30 in 14 balls, with two fours and two sixes) and Tilak Varma (64 in 34 balls, with two fours and six sixes) formed a 84-run stand, taking MI to 150 in 10.4 when Dhir was dismissed in an unbelievable counterattack.

Tilak kept fighting for MI along with skipper Hardik Pandya (24 in 20 balls, with a four and six), taking MI to 182/4 in 14.1 overs at the time of Tilak’s dismissal.

In the death overs, Tim David (42* in 22 balls, with two fours and three sixes) battled it out for MI along with Pandya and Romario Shepherd (15* in six balls, with two fours and a six). But MI had been controlled well by SRH bowlers and restricted to a commendable 246/5 in 20 overs, losing by 31 runs.

Skipper Pat Cummins (2/35) and Jaydev Unadkat (2/47) were the top bowlers for SRH. Shahbaz Ahmed also got a wicket.

Abhishek took home the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his fifty.

First Published: Mar 28 2024 | 10:24 AM IST