SunRisers Hyderabad openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma picked up from where they had left off in the Indian Premier League 2024, giving SRH a rapid start in their opener against Rajasthan Royals. The duo put up 45 runs in just 18 balls, after which Abhishek Sharma got out to Maheesh Theekshana in the 4th over of the match.
SRH did not bother to slow down after Abhishek’s wicket, as the new recruit from Mumbai Indians, Ishan Kishan, threw the kitchen sink at RR, bringing them to their knees in the powerplay. Kishan and Head helped SRH reach 94 runs in the powerplay, their third-highest team score after the first 6 overs in the Indian Premier League.
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The highlight of the powerplay was Travis Head’s boundary barrage against Jofra Archer. In the 5th over of the match, Travis Head hit Archer for four boundaries and a six, taking 23 runs from the single over. One of the shots landed deep into the stands of the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium and was measured at a massive 106 meters.
Travis Head’s magnificent hitting saw him score 67 runs off just 31 balls. Head completed his fifty in just 21 balls and helped SRH go past the total of 100 runs in the 7th over itself. By the time Head got out in the 10th over of the match, SRH were in a commanding position, having scored 135 runs.
The opener added 85 runs with Ishan Kishan in just 39 balls, which set up SRH for a huge total in this game.
Mind you, SRH hold the record for scoring three of the five highest totals in the history of the Indian Premier League. In 2024, SRH hit 287/3, 277/3, and 266/7 against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians, and Delhi Capitals, respectively.
Given their manner of batting in the first match of the tournament, it is likely that they will continue to score in the high 200s this season as well.
