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Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) batters Travis Head and Ishan Kishan reached their 4,000 and 5,000 runs in T20 cricket on Sunday.
Kishan and Head reached new milestones in their T20 careers during their Indian Premier League (IPL) opening clash against Rajasthan Royals (RR) at their home ground of Uppal Stadium. Travis provided a fine start as an opener, scoring 67 in just 31 balls, with nine fours and three sixes. His runs came at a strike rate of 216.13. In 147 T20s, Head has made 4,003 runs at an average of 31.76 and a strike rate of 149.25, with two centuries and 24 fifties. His best score is 102. On the other hand, walking at number three, Ishan followed the template set by Abhishek Sharma and Head perfectly, scoring his maiden IPL ton, 106* in 47 balls, with 11 fours and six sixes. His runs came at a strike rate of 225.53. Now, in 193 T20Is, Kishan has made 5,022 runs in 193 matches and 185 innings, with four centuries, 28 fifties, and the best score of 113*. His runs have come at an average of 29.02 and a strike rate above 134. Coming to the match, SRH was put to bat first by RR, who opted to field first. A 45-run stand between Abhishek (24 in 11 balls, with five fours) and Head kickstarted things for SRH. An 85-run stand between Head (67 in 31 balls, with nine fours and three sixes) and Kishan accelerated the run-rate). Cameos came from Nitish Kumar Reddy (30 in 15 balls, with four boundaries and a six) and Heinrich Klaasen (34 in 14 balls, with five fours and a six) and provided good support to Ishan, who ended with 106* in 47 balls, with 11 fours and six sixes. Tushar Deshpande (3/44) was the top bowler for RR, while Maheesh Theekshana got two scalps for 52 runs. Jofra Archer delivered the most expensive over in IPL history, going wicketless for 76 runs in four overs. During the run-chase, RR sunk to 24/2, with Yashasvi Jaiswal and skipper Riyan Parag going back to the pavilion for single-digit scores. However, a fighting 111-run partnership between Sanju Samson (66 in 37 balls, with seven fours and four sixes) and Dhruv Jurel (70 in 35 balls, with five fours and six sixes) gave RR a fighting chance. Shimron Hetmyer (42* in 23 balls, with four and four sixes) and Shubham Dubey (34* in 11 balls, with a four and four sixes) did put an 80-run stand, but the score was too big for RR, and they ended at 242/6, losing the game by 44 runs. Harshal Patel (2/34) and Simarjeet Singh (2/46) were the top bowlers for SRH, while Mohammed Shami got one. Ishan got the 'Player of the Match' for his fine century. (ANI)
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