Records tumbled as Sunrisers Hyderabad romped to reach the highest ever IPL total of 277 for 3 against Mumbai Indians before sealing a 31-run win in a power-hitting match that left bowlers on both sides bewildered. SRH opener Travis Head (62 off 24) and number three Abhishek Sharma (63 off 23) put on a sensational display of power-hitting that saw the latter snatch the franchise record for fastest fifty from the Australian within minutes. Heinrich Klaasen (80 not out from 34 balls) eventually provided the fireworks and helped SRH break an eleven-year-old record. The previous highest total in IPL was 263 for five achieved by Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2013. It was also the highest total recorded in a T20 competition.
Mumbai bowlers were left shell-shocked by SRH’s six-hit onslaught, but their batters came out with a goal and wrapped up what looked like a one-way match during the innings break.
They eventually finished at 246 for five in 20 overs.
A record 38 sixes were plundered in the match and it was the first time that 500 runs were scored in a T20 match.
“The wicket was good, but 277, no matter how good or bad you bowl, if the opponent gets 277, it means they batted very well. It was tough for bowlers. Nearly 500 runs were scored, so the wicket helped the batters,” MI skipper Hardik Pandya said after the match.
Chasing a mammoth 278, Rohit Sharma (26 off 12), in his 200th match for the franchise, played some sublime knocks and was well complemented by Ishan Kishan (34 off 13) who scored some much-needed runs.
Tilak Varma (64 off 34 balls) took the game deep with a quality knock comprising half a dozen sixes. At 182 for three in 14 overs and seven wickets in hand, Mumbai Indians were on course for something special before succumbing to the constant pressure on the scoreboard.
Tim David (42 and not out of 22) did his best towards the end, but it wasn’t enough.
Earlier, it rained fours and sixes as Head and Sharma toyed with Mumbai Indians’ attack after getting into bat.
Head, who was surprisingly left out of the team in the opening game, cemented his status as one of the most dangerous hitters in the game with a scintillating effort.
He broke David Warner’s record of the fastest fifty by an SRH batsman with an 18-ball half-century before Sharma surpassed Head’s feat 20 balls later by reaching the milestone in 16 balls.
Head, who was dropped by compatriot Tim David at the start of his innings, opened his front leg and hit the boundaries at will, collecting a total of nine fours and three sixes.
The left-hander completed his fifty with an inside-out four wide on middle before sending a Gerald Coetzee bouncer for a six over deep midwicket, prompting opposition skipper Hardik Pandya to acknowledge the Australian’s bold strike.
When Head departed, Sharma went hammer and tongs, focusing mainly on the cow corner for his seven sixes and three boundaries.
It has been a nightmarish start to the IPL for 17-year-old South African pacer Kwena Maphaka, who was part of the Mumbai Indians squad after his exploits in the U-19 World Cup.
He leaked a whopping 66 runs in his four overs. The left-arm pacer could not recover from Head’s attack in his second over in which he conceded 22 runs.
With the majority of Mumbai bowlers taken to the cleaners, it was surprising that Mumbai Indians captain Pandya waited until the 13th over to hand Jasprit Bumrah his second over.
After Sharma’s dismissal, the in-form Klaasen ensured that SRH’s six innings did not end. Klaasen finished with seven sixes, with the maximum of a Bumrah bouncer standing out.
Klaasen almost got SRH over the line with his breathtaking knockout against KKR at the Eden Gardens.
Former skipper Aiden Markram scored 42 off 28 balls.
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