Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], April 3 : Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) opening batter Abhishek Sharma was fined 25% of his match fee and handed a demerit point after a sanction by the Indian Premier League (IPL), following their clash against Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday.
Sharma soared back to form in the match, scoring 48 runs off 21 balls, courtesy of 4 sixes and 4 fours.
"Abhishek Sharma, All-rounder, Sunrisers Hyderabad, has been fined 25 per cent of his match fees and has also accumulated one demerit point for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during his team's match against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Thursday. He admitted to the Level 1 offence under Article 2.3 and accepted the Match Referee's sanction. For Level 1 breaches of the Code of Conduct, the Match Referee's decision is final and binding," IPL said in a statement.
Abhishek also achieved the milestone during his side's clash against three-time champions KKR.
Now, Abhishek has scored 101 sixes for SRH, with Warner still being the franchise's top-six-hitter with 143 maximums. In 76 matches and 73 innings for SRH, Abhishek has made 1,808 runs at an average of 26.58, with a strike rate of 162.88, including a century and nine fifties
Coming to the match, a clinical show from Sunrisers Hyderabad, which included quickfire knocks from Heinrich Klaasen and Abhishek Sharma and fine bowling performances from Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga and Nitish Kumar Reddy, helped them achieve their first win of the 2026 IPL, beating KKR by 65 runs at Kolkata on Thursday.
Put to field first, SRH posted 226/8, with Heinrich Klaasen (52 in 35 balls, with four boundaries and a six), Abhishek Sharma (48 in 21 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (39 in 24 balls, with four boundaries and a six).
KKR started off chasing fine with Finn Allen (28 in seven balls, with three sixes and two sixes) and Angkrish Raghuvanshi (52 in 29 balls, with six fours and two sixes), but fizzled out quickly to bundle out for 161 in 16 overs.