Abhishek Sharma overtakes Vaibhav Suryavanshi in 18 balls against Punjab Kings for huge IPL record; joins elite list

A day after Vaibhav Suryavanshi joined an elite list of batters with most Indian Premier League (IPL) fifties under 20 balls, Abhishek Sharma raced ahead of the 15-year-old Rajasthan Royals kid with a 18-ball half-century against Punjab Kings at Mullanpur on Saturday. In the process, the India opener became the first batter in the history of IPL to register five half-centuries under 20 balls.

Sent into bat first, Abhishek clobbered Punjab Kings bowlers all around the park as Sunrisers Hyderabad raced to a century inside the powerplay. Abhishek's opening partner, Travis Head, was a mere spectator at the non-striker's end. The Indian left-hander hammered five fours and eight sixes, shared a 120-run alliance with opening partner Head in just 8.1 overs.

While such quick fifties are a normal for Abhishek at the top level, it is more often about how often the Sunrisers Hyderabad batter has reached the milestone. After Saturday's innings, Abhishek moved atop the elite list with his fifth fifty under 20 balls, leaving behind the likes of Nicolas Pooran (4), Jake Fraser-McGurk, Travis Head and Vaibhav Suryavanshi (all 3).

Abhishek Sharma's IPL fifties under 20 balls

The record for fastest IPL fifty is still with Yashasvi Jaiswal, who had reached his half-century in just 13 balls in 2023 at the Eden Gardens.

Shashank Singh turns Punjab Kings' luck

However, the turning point of the game came in the ninth over. Having taken just one IPL wicket before this game, Shashank struck twice in the over with the wickets of Abhishek and Head within a space of two balls. He drew the first blood with an innocuous delivery that Head hit to the fielder at long-on to Xavier Bartlett.

Shashank struck again as Abhishek was caught by Arshdeep Singh after the batter slashed a fuller-length ball but could not clear the boundary. The dismissals stemmed the run flow for the visiting team as Sunrisers Hyderabad could only muster 96 runs in the last 11 overs to reach 219/6.

Where do PBKS, SRH stand in points table?

Before this game, Punjab Kings are placed second in the table with five points from three games after they shared points with Kolkata Knight Riders following a washout at Eden Gardens. A win for Punjab Kings will keep them second in the table with seven points.

On the other hand, Sunrisers Hyderabad, with just one win from three games, are placed sixth. A win against Punjab Kings will pull them to four points, level with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants. Rajasthan Royals lead the chart with eight points.

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