Abhishek Sharma’s fearless bat swing, Ishan Kishan’s audacious shot-making and Heinrich Klaasen’s power hitting helped Sunrisers Hyderabad stick to its aggressive home batting blueprint as they smashed 255 for 4 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in an IPL match in Hyderabad on Friday. Hyderabad’s innings was built for momentum and stayed that way from the first ball to the last over.
Quick facts
- Sunrisers Hyderabad made 255/4 vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Friday in Hyderabad.
- Abhishek Sharma struck 56 off 22 balls, including a rapid acceleration into a 20-ball half-century.
- Ishan Kishan scored 79 off 44 balls.
- Heinrich Klaasen finished with 51 off 24 balls.
- Nitish Reddy added 29 not out off 12 balls.
- SRH hit 20 fours and 16 sixes in the innings.
Abhishek also created a landmark in T20 cricket. He became the first Indian—and the second player overall in the world—to reach 40-plus sixes in multiple T20 series or tournaments. In doing so, he joined Chris Gayle as the only other name to have managed the same milestone.
At the other end, Kishan mixed timing with cheekiness to keep the chase-tilting run-rate ticking. The vice-captain found gaps effectively and struck 79 off 44 balls, showing both control and willingness to take risks when the ball sat up.
Klaasen’s brutal control
Klaasen, typically at his most dangerous when the ball isn’t being bowled in his preferred corridor, delivered another trademark innings. Hitting 51 off 24, he was especially destructive against Josh Hazlewood, dispatching as many as 27 runs in the bowler’s third over—the team’s 13th over—as Hyderabad pushed the scoreboard beyond 250 with ease on what looked like a batter-friendly surface.
The assault began early through Abhishek. He sent a Bhuvneshwar Kumar delivery well past long-off to collect his first maximum of the innings. Bhuvneshwar, who has found renewed rhythm in this IPL, didn’t stay down for long—but he was still forced to deal with constant pressure as Abhishek flicked him twice in quick succession: once over square leg and then over deep mid-wicket off back-to-back balls.
Romario Shepherd’s spells, built around friendly medium pace, were not expected to trouble the world’s top-ranked T20 batter—and they didn’t. Abhishek was lofted for straight sixes more than once, and Suyash Sharma’s offering also sailed away into the stands with minimal resistance, underlining how cleanly the SRH batters were striking.
As Kishan kept one end steady, the innings never lost its tempo. No amount of praise felt adequate for Klaasen, who is no longer playing international cricket and has become one of the most in-demand franchise hitters—yet the way he handled the RCB bowling made it look almost effortless.
RCB’s plan didn’t fully land because of how the ball was coming off the deck. In Kishan’s case, the bowling into his pads gave him the chance to swing freely. Klaasen, meanwhile, wasn’t thrown by either the straighter lines or the wider deliveries directed at him.
The finishing burst underlined the depth in Hyderabad’s batting. Klaasen’s hitting overpowered the ideas of Rajat Patidar, while Nitish Reddy provided the last flourish with 29 not out off 12 balls
. In total, SRH compiled 20 boundaries and 16 sixes, turning the innings into a sustained barrage rather than a brief explosion.
