In Match No. 27 of the IPL 2025, Sunrisers Hyderabad played Punjab Kings, and Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma were at their peak. Thanks to their bold stroke play and impressive boundary striking, the pair’s opening stand made a massive 246 target appear insignificant. From the first “go,” Head and Abhishek placed pressure on Punjab’s bowlers. They went on to put up the second-highest first-wicket partnership for SRH in the lucrative competition, with 171 runs.
Former cricket player Matthew Hayden was blown away by the pair’s amazing batting performance on Saturday. After receiving a reprieve of a No Ball early in his innings, Hayden said Abhishek batted with great conviction and confidence. From there, Hayden could tell the batter was going to try to hit the bowlers, and he eventually did so successfully.
“They were incredible; Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma had a great day.
Everything went their way. Yash Thakur’s no-ball bowling was the lone early opportunity, but after that, you could tell they were going to put in a lot of effort. When things go your way as a batter, you simply think, “This might be my day.” You continue to toy with risk, but when it continues to work, it strengthens that conviction. This type of innings occurs when you begin to play with conviction and confidence. This was simply fantastic, I must say,” Hayden said on JioHotstar.
The former Australia opener said that it was admirable how the SRH openers divided up the work, with Travis Head taking the responsibility against the pacers while Abhishek went all out for the spinners. Additionally, Hayden noted how effectively the southpaw pair approached their respective games in various modes.
It was an exquisite, well-calculated collaboration. In the post-match interview, Travis Head discussed how they played in rather different ways. Head focused on the pace assault and gave himself some time, while Abhishek was supposed to concentrate on the spinners. That is uncommon in T20 cricket, particularly during a huge run chase when pressure can be generated by just one or two balls. However, this collaboration was excellent. The two-time World Cup champion said, “And looking at those numbers, it’s remarkable how the franchise, who seemed down just three hours ago, has risen like a phoenix tonight.”
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