Abhishek Sharma struck an electrifying second IPL century, and Heinrich Klaasen delivered a sharp supporting cameo, as Sunrisers Hyderabad piled up 242/2 against Delhi Capitals on Tuesday in Hyderabad. Sharma finished unbeaten on 135, his second-highest score of the season, smashing 10 towering sixes and staying at the crease throughout a ruthless innings. Klaasen contributed with a fast 37 off just 13 balls, including three maximums and four fours, as SRH set up a dominant platform.
SRH owner Kavya Maran celebrated the milestone, along with the star opener’s father, Raj Kumar Sharma, after Abhishek reached the three-figure mark in style.
Abhishek Sharma special lights up Hyderabad
After SRH were sent in, Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head launched their chase of runs with intent, taking nine runs in the very first over. Nitish Rana responded for Delhi with a disciplined second over, conceding only six, but the contest swung back quickly as the SRH openers struck Mukesh Kumar for boundaries in the following over.
Lungi Ngidi was introduced in the fourth over, yet he was punished for 10 runs. The pressure intensified next as Sharma and Head took control against Rana, scoring 20 runs to move SRH to a quick 50-run opening stand.
Sharma then underlined his dominance during the powerplay, clearing the ropes with a six off the final delivery to help Sunrisers reach 67 without loss at the end of the fielding restrictions.
Delhi skipper Axar Patel, playing his 100th match for the franchise, responded with a tight spell right after the powerplay, giving away just seven runs. Kuldeep Yadav followed with another controlled over, leaking only eight, as Delhi tried to slow the run-rate.
In Patel’s second over, Sharma and Head struck him for a six each before Patel got the better of Head, dismissing him for 37. With the set batter gone, Ishan Kishan stepped in for SRH.
Within the same over, Sharma also completed his fifty in 25 balls—his slowest fifty across his six IPL fifties in Hyderabad—before continuing to build toward a bigger score.
Sharma then completed the 2,000-run milestone in IPL cricket for Sunrisers Hyderabad, joining David Warner, Shikhar Dhawan and Kane Williamson in an elite group of franchise centurions.
With Kishan at the other end, SRH attacked Kuldeep Yadav again, as the pair collected 22 runs in the 11th over. Keeping the pressure on, Sharma struck his second IPL hundred in the 15th over, turning the chase into a runaway contest.
Meanwhile, Kishan was run out for 25 in the same over, but Sharma kept going, smashing Rana for 23 runs to push SRH to 183/2.
Sharma carried his momentum into the later stages, reaching his second IPL century in 47 balls. The 25-year-old’s knock was his ninth T20 century overall, equalling Virat Kohli’s record for the most centuries by an Indian in men’s T20 cricket. It also represented the second time Sharma had struck 10 sixes in an IPL innings, placing him as only the second batter to do it multiple times after Chris Gayle, who has achieved the feat four times.
SRH crossed the 200-run line by the end of the 17th over, with Sharma and Klaasen continuing to use the crease aggressively. Klaasen then extended the assault, striking two sixes off Lungi Ngidi in the 18th over to add 14 more runs to the total.
Klaasen also made a key milestone of his own, becoming the third-fastest to reach 100 IPL sixes in terms of innings (52), behind Gayle (37) and Andre Russell (47). In terms of balls faced, he was the seventh-fastest, reaching the mark after 1,072 deliveries.
T.Natarajan delivered an impressive 19th over, conceding just six runs. SRH closed their innings on 242/2, with Klaasen and Sharma striking 20 runs in the final over to cap off a commanding batting display.
