Youngster Abhishek Sharma launched a scathing attack against Delhi Capitals, completing a century in just 47 balls. The southpaw went berserk right from the beginning as the Delhi bowlers seemed unprepared for his wrath. Captain Axar Patel introduced off-spinner Nitish Rana early on to tackle him, which was used heavily against him Abhishek during the T20 World Cup, but the opener was ready this time around and played some phenomenal cricket in the middle.
With this century, Abhishek Sharma has moved level with Virat Kohli for the most T20 hundreds by an Indian. The milestone also sees him go past Rohit Sharmaโs tally of eight in the format. Both Abhishek and Kohli now have nine T20 centuries each.
Most centuries by an Indian in T20 cricket:
| Player | Centuries |
| Virat Kohli | 9 |
| Abhishek Sharma | 9 |
| Rohit Sharma | 8 |
Hyderabad post 242 runs on board in first innings
After reaching his century, fatigue slowly began to take its toll, but Abhishek Sharma refused to ease up, continuing his ruthless assault on the Delhi Capitalsโ bowling attack. The youngster finished unbeaten, scoring a scintillating 135 off just 68 balls. Throughout his innings, he came agonisingly close to breaking two more iconic IPL records.
The first was the record for the most runs scored by an Indian in a single IPL innings, a mark he already holds with his 141-run effort.ย The second near-miss was the record for the most sixes by an Indian in an IPL innings. Abhishek needed just one more maximum to join the elite club alongside Murali Vijay and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, both of whom have hit 11 sixes in a single game.ย
After Abhishekโs carnage, Heinrich Klaasen took over the business. The former South Africa international launched a scathing attack, smashing unbeaten 37 runs off just 13 balls. Courtesy of their onslaught, Hyderabad posted 242 runs on the board in the first innings.
Delhi, in the meantime, have plenty to reflect on. However, most importantly, they now need to start well with the bat to stay in the hunt.
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