IPL 2024: Klaasen, Abhishek, Head help Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Mumbai Indians

Hyderabad: Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by 31 runs in a high scoring thriller of IPL 2024 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Wednesday night.

After scoring mammoth 277 runs, hosts Sunrisers restricted the opponent at 246 in allotted overs.

Chasing a huge target, Mumbai Indians started well as both openers Rohit Sharma (26 off 12 balls) and Ishan Kishan (34 off 13 balls) put on 56 runs in 3.2 overs for the opening wicket. Naman Dhir (30 off 14 balls) and Tilak Varma added another 84 runs for the third wicket. The visitors passed 150 mark in the 11th over. Varma hit 64 runs from 34 balls with 6 sixes. Captain Hardik Pandya (24) and Tim David (42no) kept the momentum high, but the huge score made the difference.

Earlier, sizzling half-centuries from Heinrich Klassen, Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head helped Sunrisers Hyderabad amass an astonishing 277/3.

The SRH batters unleashing an absolute batting massacre on MI’s bowlers meant they set a new record for the highest-ever total in the IPL and broke the record of Royal Challengers Bengaluru who made 263/5 against Pune Warriors India in 2013.

Their 277/3 is also the third-highest total in all men's T20 games. Head began the blitzkrieg by reaching his fifty in 18 balls to eventually make 62, before Abhishek brought out his onslaught to get the fastest half-century of the ongoing competition in 16 deliveries.

Though Klassen got his fifty in 23 balls, he unleashed big hits to further entertain the capacity crowd by remaining unbeaten on 80 off 34 balls, proving why he’s one of the best batters in T20 cricket.

For MI, their bowlers bowled too many short balls and their bowling changes didn’t make for the smartest moves in the face of a never-ending onslaught from the trio of Head, Abhishek and Klassen. Moreover, they conceded a lot of extras and fielding wasn’t up to the mark in what is already turning out to be a forgettable match for them.

Electing to bat first, SRH lost Mayank Agarwal when he top-edged a pull to mid-on off Hardik Pandya. But Head was stirring up carnage from the other end – getting off the mark with a cracking drive off the teenaged debutant pacer Kwena Maphaka and being dropped by Tim David on five at mid-off.

Head turned the heat on Maphaka in a 22-run third over, smacking two sixes and two overs, with a 98m clubbed six over deep mid-wicket being the standout. After Hardik took out Mayank, Head teared into him by hitting three stunning fours to take 13 runs off the over.

After Jasprit Bumrah gave away only five runs in his first over, Head hit two fours – second of which got him his 18-ball fifty and as many sixes after Abhishek Sharma hit a maximum to take 23 runs off Gerald Coetzee, as SRH made 81/1 in six overs, the best-ever power-play score for the franchise in their history of IPL.

Thanks to Head's 62 off 24 balls, before being dismissed while trying to upper cut off Coetzee, SRH brought up their 100 in just the seventh over. If MI felt they would some respite, they were mistaken as Abhishek stepped up to continue raining boundaries at the Uppal.

Klassen brought up SRH’s 250 by smacking a Bumrah full-toss over the non-striker for four and drove the pacer for another boundary. He went on to smash a four and two sixes off Shams Mulani in the final over to set a new record for the highest-ever score in the IPL.

Brief Scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad 277/3 in 20 overs (Heinrich Klassen 80 not out, Abhishek Sharma 63; Piyush Chawla 1-34, Hardik Pandya 1-46) beat Mumbai Indians 246/5 (Tilak Varma 64, Tim David 42no, Ishan Kishan 34, Pat Cummins 2/35).

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