However, it was Abhishek Sharma, who had been struggling for form this season, that stole the show with an astonishing display of clean hitting. The southpaw, who was dropped once and caught off a no-ball in the fourth over, hammered 10 sixes and 14 fours, recording the highest individual score by an Indian in IPL history, as SRH – languishing at the bottom of the table – chased down the target scoring 247 in just 18.3 overs, snapping a four-game losing streak.
Lockie Ferguson’s hamstring injury after bowling just two balls also left Iyer with one bowler short.
If Abhishek was the chief aggressor, reaching his fifty in just 19 balls, Travis Head provided solid support, blasting three sixes and nine fours in a fluent 66 off 37 balls. The duo put on a record 171-run opening stand, making a mockery of the daunting chase.
The 24-year-old from Punjab dismantled the PBKS bowling attack with brute force. Marco Jansen was taken for four boundaries in the second over, and Yash Thakur was clobbered for two sixes and a four as SRH stormed to 60 in just 4 overs.
Glenn Maxwell was welcomed with a six over extra cover and a four, but the real damage was felt by Yuzvendra Chahal, who dropped Abhishek off his own bowling and was later dispatched into the mid-wicket stands. Having played second fiddle early on, Head shifted gears in the ninth over, smashing Maxwell for back-to-back sixes. With Sunrisers in full flow, PBKS skipper Iyer used seven bowlers within the first nine overs, but none could make a breakthrough-partly due to some sloppy fielding. Abhishek exploded again in the 10th over, carting Jansen for two sixes and two fours as SRH raced to 143 for no loss at the halfway mark.
Chahal finally broke the partnership in the 13th over, with Head holing out to long-on. Abhishek soon reached his maiden IPL century in 40 balls and celebrated by pulling out a piece of white paper from his pocket.
Needing 60 off the last six overs, Abhishek continued the carnage with two sixes and a four off Chahal, bringing up SRH’s 200 in the 15th over.
Thakur was smashed for another six and four before Arshdeep Singh finally ended Abhishek’s dream innings in the 17th over. But it was too little, too late, as Heinrich Klaasen (21) and Ishan Kishan (9) finished the chase comfortably.
Earlier, openers Priyansh Arya (36) and Prabhsimran Singh (42) provided a blazing 66-run start, but it was skipper Shreyas Iyer who anchored the innings with a whirlwind 82 off 36 balls, hitting six sixes and as many fours. He shared a 73-run stand off 40 balls with Nehal Wadhera (22).
Marcus Stoinis provided the final flourish, hammering Mohammed Shami (0/75) for four consecutive sixes in the last over as Punjab Kings posted a daunting total.
On a belter of a pitch, PBKS raced to 89 for one in the powerplay. Prabhsimran set the tone by smashing Shami (0/75) for three boundaries before Priyansh took on Pat Cummins (0/40) with a six and two fours. The left-hander then clobbered Shami for two sixes and a four, while Prabhsimran flicked one for a maximum.
Harshal Patel (4/42) eventually broke the stand, deceiving Priyansh with a slower ball. PBKS were 66 for one in four overs. Harshal nearly had Prabhsimran too, but Abhishek Sharma dropped a tough chance. Iyer ended the powerplay with a six.
Eshan Malinga (2/45), on IPL debut, dismissed Prabhsimran, but Iyer and Wadhera took him apart in his second over. Zeeshan Ansari, economical early on, was smashed for two sixes and a reverse-hit four by Iyer, who brought up his fifty off Shami.
Punjab lost two quick wickets – Malinga cleaned up Wadhera, and Harshal trapped Shashank Singh (2) via DRS – to slip to 168/4 in 15 overs. But Iyer continued the assault before falling to Harshal in the 18th over along with Glenn Maxwell.
Stoinis finished the innings in style, taking Shami apart in the final over.
