Abhishek Sharma in action.© X/@SunRisers
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) batter Abhishek Sharma became only the second batter after legendary David Warner to complete a century of sixes for the franchise. Abhishek achieved the milestone during his side’s Indian Premier League (IPL) match against three-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders, scoring a quickfire 48 off 21 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes at a strike rate of over 228. Abhishek has now scored 101 sixes for SRH, with Warner still being the franchise’s top six-hitter with 143 maximums. In 76 matches and 73 innings for SRH, Abhishek has made 1,808 runs at an average of 26.58 and a strike rate of 162.88, including a century and nine fifties.
Coming to the match, KKR opted to bowl first. The opening-wicket stand between Travis Head (46 off 21 balls, with six fours and three sixes) and Abhishek (48 off 21 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes) got SRH off to a strong start, before they slipped to 118/4.
Heinrich Klaasen (52 off 35 balls, with four boundaries and a six) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (39 off 24 balls, with four boundaries and a six) put on an 82-run stand for the fifth wicket to take SRH to 226/8 in 20 overs.
Blessing Muzarabani (4/41) was the pick of the bowlers for KKR, while Vaibhav Arora (2/47), Kartik Tyagi (1/48) and Anukul Roy (1/16) were also among the wickets.
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