IPL 2024: Head’s century lifts SRH to highest-ever total of 287/3 against RCB

Bengaluru, April 15 (IANS) Travis Head’s maiden century, off 39 deliveries, helped Sunrisers Hyderabad post the highest-ever team total of 287/3 in Match 30 of IPL 2024 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Monday.

Asked to bat first on the flat Bengaluru pitch with small straight boundaries, Sunrisers Hyderabad openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma were off to a solid start. With Maxwell missing from their squad, RCB gave the new ball to offspinner Will Jacks to try and take it away from the left-handers, who bowled a decent over for RCB.

Reece Topley, bowling the second over of Power-play, was taken down for 20 runs. Head started with a boundary, maximum, and then Abhishek ended the over with a maximum. The fifth over of the day was bowled by Lockie Ferguson and his second and third balls were both dispatched for sixes by Head; the first a clip over square leg, and the next a swat over midwicket. Head ended the over with a four by going over mid-off.

Yash Dayal concluded the Power-play with another 20-run over, and Head flew his way to a 20-ball fifty including three fours and five sixes. SRH were 76 without loss after six overs.

Abhishek Sharma departed after scoring 34 off 22 deliveries failing to put the leg-side delivery of Topley over the boundary. Both the batters added 108 runs in mere deliveries for the visitors. Head on the other hand slammed the fastest century for Sunrisers Hyderabad in 39 deliveries, beaking David Warner’s previous record of 43 deliveries.

Opening the batting for Hyderabad, Head went off to absolute carnage and reached a century in 39 deliveries with the help of nine fours and eight sixes. It was also his maiden IPL century. However, he departed after scoring 102 off 41 deliveries on Ferguson’s bowling. Ferguson went for a knuckleball on the third ball of the 13th over, and Head sent it straight into the air.

This was the fourth fastest century in the history of the IPL only behind Chris Gayle, Yusuf Pathan, and David Miller. Head broke the record of his countrymate, David Warner, who smashed a 43 deliveries century against Kolkata Knight Riders back in 2017.

SRH were 171/2 after 13 overs as Aiden Markram joined his South Africa team-mate Klaasen in the middle.

RCB entered this match without a single specialist spinner. They went for the off-spin of Will Jacks, who was taken for 32 in his three overs. RCB’s pace bowlers Topley, Dayal, Ferguson, and Vyshak were belted for 137 off ten overs. Mahipal Lomror, bowling the 14th over, was smashed for 18 runs as SRH reached 189 for 2.

The 15th over ended with Heinrich Klaasen clubbing a six over the bowler Vijaykumar Vyshak’s head, capitalising on a low full toss to send it bang into the sightscreen, reaching his half-century in just 23 balls.

Ferguson decided to end the 17th over with a wide full toss outside off. Klaasen looked to simply use the pace of the bowler and guided it beyond point but could only get it as far as the fielder inside the circle.

It was a simple catch for Vyshak, and Klaasen walked back after 67 from 31 balls. Klassen and Markram added 66 in just 27 deliveries for the third wicket. Abdul Samad’s late carnage of 37 in 10 deliveries helped SRH break their own record of the highest team total in IPL history after they posted a total of 287 for 3 in 20 overs.

SRH batters hammered 22 sixes in the inning, it was the most in an IPL innings. Back in 2013, Chris Gayle had cracked 17 sixes out of RCB’s 21, so far the IPL record.

Brief score:

Sunrisers Hyderabad 287/3 in 20 overs (Travis Head 102, Heinrich Klassen 67; Lockie Ferguson 2-58, Reece Topley 1-68) against Royal Challengers Bengaluru

–IANS

hs/bsk/