Abhishek Sharma blows the roof off early
Abhishek Sharma did not wait for the game to settle. He went from ball one and never looked back, reaching 50 off just 15 balls. That puts him among the fastest half-centuries in IPL history.
Mukesh Choudhary tried to use movement early, but it made little difference. Anything short or full was put away. At 1.1, he was already launching over cover. By 2.2 and 2.5, he was clearing long-on and extra cover with ease. Matthew Short tried to slow things down, but Abhishek kept finding gaps and then boundaries. By the time he hit successive sixes in the fourth over, the field felt too small for him.
Abhishek Sharma added another entry to his growing list of quick scoring feats, now leading the IPL chart for most 50-plus scores in under 20 balls with six. Nicholas Pooran follows with four. It is becoming a clear pattern rather than a one-off burst.
SRH powerplay starts big, ends messy for CSK to recover
Sunrisers Hyderabad raced to 75 in the powerplay, but the story changed late. It looked like total control, then Mukesh Choudhary struck twice in two balls. Travis Head went first for 23, caught brilliantly by Ruturaj Gaikwad at mid-off. Ishan Kishan followed next ball for a golden duck.
Two wickets in two deliveries. Same bowler. Same fielder. Same over. That is what pulled CSK back from a runaway start.
So what now for SRH? They still have runs on the board, but the collapse at the end of the powerplay has opened the game slightly.
Abhishek has already done the heavy lifting, but can the middle order keep the tempo going, or will CSK drag this back into a contest?