“Abhishek Sharma Played Well But…”: Punjab Kings Coach Fumes After Heavy Loss To SRH

Abhishek Sharma delivered one of the most explosive knocks of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season, hammering a sensational 141 off just 55 balls against Punjab Kings (PBKS). His innings, laced with 14 boundaries and 10 towering sixes, came at a staggering strike rate of 256.36, leaving the PBKS bowlers gasping for answers. The left-hander, who had been searching for form, finally found his rhythm and punished the Punjab attack with a mix of clean hitting and fearless strokeplay. Reflecting on the carnage, PBKS spin bowling coach Sunil Joshi admitted that the team missed crucial chances which allowed Abhishek to take the game away.

“I think Abhishek played really well but he had few opportunities, we missed it — one was a no-ball and we missed a couple of chances,” Joshi said in the post-match press conference.

“So, in T20 cricket it is always hit and miss and Abhishek encashed today,” he added.

Despite PBKS’s efforts to pull things back, Abhishek’s assault proved too heavy a blow to recover from. The innings will go down as one of the most dominant batting displays of the season and could well mark a turning point in Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) campaign.

With this knock, Abhishek made history on Saturday, hitting the highest individual score by an Indian player in Indian Premier League (IPL) history.

The 24-year-old player has overtaken KL Rahul (132 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in IPL 2020) as the player with the highest score by an Indian in IPL history.

Overall, next to Chris Gayle (175* for RCB against Pune Warriors India in 2013) and Brendon McCullum (for Kolkata Knight Riders against RCB in 2008), this is the third-highest individual score in IPL history.

The youngster hit 116 of his runs in boundaries, breaking the record of Jonny Bairstow (90) for most runs in an innings by an SRH batter via boundaries. Also, his 10 sixes are the most by an SRH player in an innings, overtaking David Warner’s eight.

Coming to the match, PBKS won the toss and elected to bat first. A 66-run stand between Priyansh Arya (36 in 13 balls, with two fours and four sixes) and Prabhsimran Singh (42 in 23 balls, with seven fours and a six) started off things well for PBKS. Later, a half-century from skipper Shreyas Iyer (82 in 36 balls, with six fours and six sixes) and a final flourish from Marcus Stoinis (34* in 11 balls, with a four and four sixes) powered PBKS to 245/6 in their 20 overs.

Harshal Patel (4/42) and Eshan Malinga (2/45) were among the wicket-takers for SRH.In the run-chase of 246 runs, Abhishek (141 in 55 balls, with 14 fours and 10 sixes) and Travis Head (66 in 37 balls, with nine fours and three sixes) started off well with a 171-run partnership. After Head was dismissed, Abhishek continued to rage while Heinrich Klaasen (21*) and Ishan Kishan (9*) put some finishing touches, chasing down the mammoth total.

This is also the second-highest run chase in IPL history, with 262 chased by PBKS against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) last year being at the top. SRH has risen to the eighth spot with two wins and four losses while PBKS is at sixth place, with three wins and two losses.

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