ABHISHEK SHARMA scored 141 off 55 balls as Sunrisers Hyderabad chased down 246 to defeat Punjab Kings by eight wickets in the IPL on Saturday. It was the second-highest successful run chase in IPL history.
Earlier in the day, Nicholas Pooran continued his run of form with 61 to help Lucknow Super Giants defeat Gujarat Titans by six wickets, ending Gujarat’s four-match winning streak.
Abhishek and opening partner Travis Head put on a 171-run stand—the highest of this season so far—to set up the chase, which was completed with nine balls to spare.
"We didn't talk (about) anything," Abhishek said. "It was just natural play for us. The partnership boosted me up."
The highest successful IPL chase remains Punjab’s 262 against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens in 2023.
Abhishek’s 141 is the third-highest individual score in IPL history, behind Chris Gayle’s 175 not out and Brendon McCullum’s 158 not out. It is also the highest individual score in the tournament in the past 12 years.
"This one is very special, because I wanted to break that losing streak," said Abhishek. "Losing four matches back to back was very tough. But we never talked about it in the team."
Punjab’s total of 245-6 was built on Shreyas Iyer’s 82 and a late 34 from Marcus Stoinis. But the score proved insufficient as Sunrisers moved off the bottom of the table with their second win in six matches.
Abhishek reached his half-century in 19 balls and brought up his century in 40 balls. Head scored 66 off 37 balls with nine fours and three sixes before falling to Yuzvendra Chahal.
After reaching his century, Abhishek celebrated by punching the air and waving a piece of paper that read "this one for the orange army", referring to the Sunrisers fans.
Abhishek’s innings included 14 fours and 10 sixes. He was dismissed by Arshdeep Singh with 24 runs still needed. Heinrich Klaasen finished the chase with an unbeaten 21 off 14 balls.
Pooran leads Lucknow to win
In the earlier match, opener Aiden Markram scored 58 and Nicholas Pooran added 61 as Lucknow chased down 181 against Gujarat with three balls remaining.
Markram shared partnerships of 65 with Rishabh Pant and 58 with Pooran. Pooran’s fifty was his fourth of the season and took him to 349 runs, putting him ahead of Gujarat’s Sai Sudharsan as the tournament’s top run-scorer so far. Pooran’s strike rate stands at 215.
"I think one thing is for sure is that we are happy to have Nicholas Pooran in our team," Pant said. "You want someone like him on your side and not batting against you. The way he is reading the game right now, the way he is batting is phenomenal."
The result pushed Gujarat off the top of the table. Lucknow are now third, with four wins in six matches.
Markram stepped in as opener in the absence of Mitchell Marsh, who missed the game due to his daughter’s illness.
Skipper Pant opened the innings but was dismissed for 21 off 18 balls after being dropped earlier by Jos Buttler behind the stumps.
Pant hit four boundaries before he was caught at deep third man off Prasidh Krishna. So far this season, he has scored 40 runs in five innings.
Pooran reached his half-century in 23 balls and hit one four and seven sixes in his 34-ball knock before falling to Rashid Khan.
Impact substitute Ayush Badoni remained unbeaten on 28 and hit a four and a six to finish the chase after a brief stumble.
(Photo credit: PTI)
