The records plummeted from left to right and center as Sunrisers Hyderabad bowled out 277 for three, the highest total in IPL history, leaving Mumbai Indians shocked on Wednesday. Travis Head (62 off 24) and Abhishek Sharma (63 off 23) put on a sensational display of power-hitting, with the latter taking the franchise record for the Australian’s fastest fifty 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 rained fours and sixes throughout the innings as Head and Sharma played with the Mumbai Indians’ attack.
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.
However, SunRisers Hyderabad’s 277/3 is not the highest score in the shortest format.
Highest team totals in the format (T20I and T20 combined)
1. Nepal 314/3 vs Mongolia, 2023
2. Afghanistan 278/3 vs Ireland, 2019
3. Czech Rep. 278/4 vs Turkey, 2019
4. SunRisers Hyderabad 277/3 vs Mumbai Indians, 2024
5. Punjab 275/6 vs Andhra, 2023
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