Sunrisers Hyderabad openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma launched a scathing attack against Mumbai Indians bowlers at the Wankhede Stadium. Chasing 244 runs, the visitors needed something extraordinary to find the right momentum and the duo stepped up big time, dominating the proceedings. They stitched a 129-run partnership to keep Hyderabad in the hunt, which also matches Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner in one of IPLโs legendary lists.ย
Dhawan and Warner held the record for the most century stand partnerships for the first wicket. Against Mumbai, Head and Abhishek matched the feat with their sixth 100+ stand. Since 2024, they have been a force to reckon with and it was the second occasion this season when the duo touched the milestone.
Headโs blitzkrieg put Hyderabad in the driverโs seat
Head had a tough IPL 2026, but against Mumbai, he unleashed havoc. The Australia international hit 76 runs off 30 balls as he looked difficult to stop in the middle, before Hardik Pandya handed the much-needed break to the hosts. His opening partner, Abhishek, on the other hand, hit 45 runs off 24 balls. He took the back seat tonight but managed to keep the scoreboard ticking, which never allowed Mumbai to put Hyderabad under pressure.
In the ninth over of the match, Abhishek finally departed and on the very next ball, Ishan Kishan got out too. AM Ghazanfar brought the Hardik-led side to the hunt for a while, but once Heinrich Klaasen found momentum, he proved difficult to contain.
The former South Africa international kept up with the momentum that Head left behind. His blitzkriegย kept the home team under immense pressure. He will now focus on getting the job done, which should be an easy task as Hyderabad have everything under control so far. Mumbai needs to pick up quick wickets to change the complexion of the game.ย
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