Opening for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Punjab Kings at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, the 25-year-old raced to his half-century in just 18 balls. He achieved this milestone in style, smashing Vijaykumar Vyshak for a six on the fourth ball of the fifth over.
This isn’t uncharted territory for Abhishek. In previous IPL seasons, he has registered a 50 in 16 balls once, in 18 balls once, and twice in 19 balls, affirming his status as one of the most explosive starters in the format.
Abhishek relished his first half-century of the season, earning a hug from Head before they continued their aggressive batting.
Bartlett returned, but the assault didn’t relent as Head struck three consecutive boundaries while Abhishek smashed one over deep midwicket for a maximum, bringing SRH’s 100 up within the powerplay.
With his main seamers leaking runs, Punjab skipper Shreyas Iyer brought in Shashank Singh and spinner Yuzvendra Chahal to stem the flow, and the former allowed just six runs in his opening over.
Leg-spinner Chahal gave away only three runs in his first five deliveries before Abhishek skipped down the pitch and sent him for a massive six.
Sticking with Shashank paid dividends for PBKS as he secured the crucial first breakthrough when Head hit a simple delivery to the fielder at long-on.
Shashank struck again when Abhishek was caught by Arshdeep after the batter attempted to slash a fuller-length ball but failed to clear the boundary.
Displaying sharp captaincy, Shreyas gave Chahal another over, and in the context of the match, he fulfilled his role by conceding only nine runs.
SRH skipper Ishan Kishan (27 off 17) was dismissed by Arshdeep, while Heinrich Klaasen (39 off 33) fell in the final over.
(With PTI inputs)
