Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], May 8 : Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) opener Abhishek Sharma gave all the credit to his opening partner Travis Head for helping their franchise seal a massive 10-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 on Wednesday.
Abhishek played an unbeaten 78-run knock from just 28 balls at a strike rate of 267.86. He slammed 8 fours and 6 sixes while chasing the 166-run target given by LSG.
Speaking after the match, Abhishek heaped praise on Travis Head for taking the pressure off from the start of the run chase.
The 23-year-old revealed that the Sunrisers bowlers adviced the batters during the inning break and told them that the pitch was getting better for batting. He also thanked Yuvraj Singh, Brian Lara, and his father for helping him reach at this level.
"All the credit goes to him (Travis Head). The way he starts against all bowlers... he goes after them from the start and takes the pressure off. The bowlers told us (during the innings break) that it was getting better, but myself and Travis thought it was not doing much. I think the hard work I put in before the tournament is showing now, thanks to Yuvi Paaji, Brian (Lara) as well and my father, who is my first coach," Abhishek said.
Summarizing the match, LSG elected to bat first after winning the toss. The visitors got to a slow start, getting just 57 runs in the first 10 overs and losing three wickets. Skipper KL Rahul played a sluggish knock of just 29 runs.
In the second half of the innings, Ayush Badoni (55*) and Nicholas Pooran (48*) turned things around with a 99-run stand, putting a score of 165/4 in 20 overs for LSG.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/12) was the top bowler for LSG. Pat Cummins also got a wicket.
In the run-chase of 166 runs, openers Travis Head (89*) and Abhishek Sharma (75*) launched what seemed like a never-ending assault on LSG ballers, helping SRH chase down the total in just 9.4 overs without losing a wicket.
SRH is at number three in the table with seven wins, five losses and 14 points. LSG is in the sixth spot with six wins, six losses and 12 points.