Sunrisers Hyderabad created a hot streak in the Indian Premier League as they blasted to a monumental total of 277-3, the highest ever IPL in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
Their impressive batting performance paved the way to a thrilling 31-run victory over Mumbai Indians in a breathtaking six-hit extravaganza.
Travis Head of Australia proved to be the main architect of Hyderabad’s onslaught as he smashed 62 off just 24 balls. This blitz took Hyderabad past the previous IPL milestone set by Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2013, who posted 263-5.
Despite a valiant effort from Mumbai that featured a flurry of 38 sixes to set another IPL record, their chase was over. Tilak Varma showed his prowess with a quickfire 64 off 34 balls for Mumbai. However, even his stellar performance could not save Mumbai’s innings on a batsman-favoring pitch, especially in Rohit Sharma’s milestone 200th IPL match.
Rohit, along with fellow opener Ishan Kishan, got Mumbai off to a flying start but the momentum waned after the initial onslaught. Tim David’s late blitz added some respectability to the total but Mumbai closed their innings on 246-5, their highest IPL score.
The match witnessed an unprecedented runfest with a total of 523 runs marking another milestone in IPL history. Pat Cummins led the bowling for Hyderabad with figures of 2-35 to secure their first win of the season.
Earlier, Travis Head, benefiting from a dropped catch by Tim David off the bowling of captain Hardik Pandya, raced to his fifty in just 18 balls. Abhishek Sharma continued the onslaught and reached his half-century in just 16 balls.
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Hyderabad’s dominance was evident from the start, reaching the 100-run mark in just seven overs and amassing a stunning 148-2 in the first 10 overs. Abhishek’s departure for a whopping 63 off 23 balls brought no relief to the Mumbai bowlers.
The barrage of boundaries continued, with 18 sixes and 19 fours adorning Hyderabad’s innings. South African duo Heinrich Klaasen (80 off 34 balls) and Aiden Markram (42) put on an unbeaten 116-run partnership that further demoralized Mumbai’s bowling attack.
Mumbai’s young sensation, Kwena Maphaka, endured a tough start to the IPL, conceding 66 runs in his four overs. The match also marked Mumbai’s transition to captaincy, with Hardik Pandya taking over the reins from the seasoned Rohit Sharma.
With both teams off to a losing start to the season, Sunrisers Hyderabad’s emphatic win serves as a statement of intent and sets the stage for an exciting IPL campaign.