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Indian batter Abhishek Sharma made a stunning 28-ball 74 for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Punjab Kings (PBKS) at Mullanpur on Saturday, highlighting two of his biggest strengths in the process.
After a duck in his previous outing, the superstar opener bounced back with a 28-ball 74 against PBKS, lacing his knock with five fours and eight stunning sixes. As per CricViz, Abhishek averages 56 and a strike at 254 while playing his shots down the ground in a 'V' position from his crease. During the course of his knock, he smashed a lot of his fours and sixes down the ground in the 'V' position down the ground. Since the start of 2024, no batter in world cricket has been as prolific as Abhishek while coming down the track during the powerplay phase, scoring 270 runs in 121 balls, with six dismissals at a strike rate of 223 and an average of 45, as per CricViz. He also joined the elite company of legends like Sanath Jayasuriya (against CSK for MI in 2008), Jos Buttler (for RR against DC in 2018) and Jonny Bairstow (for PBKS against RCB in 2022) for the joint-most sixes by a batter during powerplay in an IPL inning, with seven each. This season, he has made 129 runs in four innings at an average of 32.25 and a strike rate of 218.84, with a fifty to his name. This year has been a topsy-turvy one for Abhishek, who had a poor T20 World Cup with just 141 runs in eight innings at an average of 17.62, with two fifties, including one in the final against New Zealand. He started the tournament with three successive ducks and has scored six ducks this calendar year. But nonetheless, Abhishek came good in the final to set up a brilliant start for India alongside Sanju Samson at Ahmedabad. This year in 17 T20S, he has made 452 runs at an average of 28.25 and a strike rate of 204.52, with five fifties. Coming to the match, PBKS opted to bowl first, but a 120-run partnership between Head (74 in 28 balls, with five fours and eight sixes) and Travis Head (38 in 23 balls, with five fours and a six) made them regret the decision. Knocks from Ishan Kishan (27 in 17 balls, with three fours and a six) and Heinrich Klaasen (39 in 33 balls, with three fours and a six) took SRH to 219/6 in 20 overs. Shashank Singh (2/20) and Arshdeep Singh (2/50) were among the top bowlers for PBKS. (ANI)
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