Abhishek Sharma has continued India’s IPL 2026 century trail with a brutal, boundary-laden innings against the Delhi Capitals, striking his second league hundred and delivering carnage at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. It was the third time in the season that a batter from the Indian squad that recently won the T20 World Cup has reached three figures, following Sanju Samson’s first for Chennai Super Kings and Tilak Varma’s century for Mumbai Indians.
How the innings unfolded
- The left-handed opener began cautiously, using the opening couple of overs to read the conditions at the venue.
- Once set, he accelerated sharply, turning the contest into his own show with relentless power-hitting.
- He reached the triple-figure mark in 47 balls, doing so while dismantling the Delhi Capitals bowling attack in a ruthless spell.
- He did not stop after the hundred, carrying on to finish unbeaten on 135 off 68 deliveries.
- Delhi’s response never got the chance to fully settle, as the innings helped Hyderabad set a huge target of 243 runs.
What the century meant for Abhishek
This was Abhishek’s second IPL century. His maiden ton came last season versus Punjab Kings at the same ground. In overall T20 cricket, the knock took him to a ninth century, moving him past former India captain Rohit Sharma’s eight to level with the Indian record held by Virat Kohli.
Quinton de Kock, Rilee Rossouw and Sahibzada Farhan have nine T20 centuries as well, and they currently sit fourth on the all-time leaderboard behind Chris Gayle (22), Babar Azam (12) and David Warner (10).
The innings also featured 10 sixes. With those blows, his career tally in T20 cricket climbed to 354, overtaking legendary MS Dhoni’s 350. Among Indian batters, that total ranks him fifth, behind Rohit (555), Kohli (405), Suryakumar Yadav (423) and Samson (405).
Abhishek’s 135* was his second-highest IPL score, surpassed only by the 141 he struck during his first IPL century last season. It also stands as the fifth-highest individual score in IPL history, with him the only batter to appear twice on that top list—and the only Indian to do so.
Build-up with other Hyderabad batters
Earlier in the innings, Abhishek joined with a comparatively subdued Travis Head, who made 37 off 26 balls, to construct a 97-run opening partnership. Captain Ishan Kishan then entered at 25 off 13 and added 79 runs for the second wicket with Abhishek in just 5.5 overs, creating a strong platform for the late surge.
As the opener showed signs of tiring, Heinrich Klaasen took the baton, blasting 37 not out off 13 balls. That finishing burst helped Sunrisers Hyderabad post a commanding 243-run target for Delhi Capitals.
