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Images from the IPL 2025 match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Saturday.
Abhishek Sharma returned to form with a breathtaking 141 off 55 balls, overshadowing Shreyas Iyer's 82, as Sunrisers Hyderabad scripted the second-highest run chase in IPL history to return to winning ways with a comprehensive eight-wicket win over Punjab Kings in a high-scoring encounter here on Saturday.
Opting to bat, PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer smashed a blistering 82 off 36 balls, laced with six sixes and as many fours, powering his side to a mammoth 245 for six, despite a four-wicket haul by Harshal Patel (4/42).
However, it was Abhishek Sharma, who had been struggling for form this season, whole stole the show with a sensational display of clean hitting.
The southpaw, who was dropped twice, hammered 10 sixes and 14 fours, recording the highest individual score by an Indian in the history of IPL. SRH, languishing at the bottom of the table, chased down the target scoring 247 in just 18.3 overs, snapping a four-game losing streak.
Lockie Ferguson's hamstring injury after bowling just two balls hampered Punjab Kings as they were left with a bowler short.
If Abhishek was the chief aggressor, smashing his way to an entertaining fifty in just 19 balls, AustralianTravis Head provided solid support, blasting three sixes and nine fours in a fluent 66 off 37 balls. The duo put on a record 171-run opening stand, making a mockery of the daunting chase.
The 24-year-old from Punjab dismantled the PBKS bowling attack with brute force. Marco Jansen was taken for four boundaries in the second over, and Yash Thakur was clobbered for two sixes and a four as SRH stormed to 60 in just four overs.
Part-time spinner Glenn Maxwell was welcomed with a six over extra cover and a four, but the real damage was felt by Yuzvendra Chahal, who dropped Abhishek off his own bowling and was later dispatched into the stands at midwicket.
Having played second fiddle early on, Head shifted gears in the ninth over, smashing Maxwell for back-to-back sixes. With Sunrisers in full flow, PBKS skipper Iyer used seven bowlers within the first nine overs, but none could make a breakthrough -- partly due to some sloppy fielding.
Abhishek exploded again in the 10th over, carting Jansen for two sixes and two fours as SRH raced to 143 for no loss in 10 overs at the halfway mark.
Chahal finally broke the partnership in the 13th over, with Head holing out to long-on. Abhishek soon reached his maiden IPL century in 40 balls and celebrated by pulling out a piece of white paper from his pocket.
Needing 60 off the last six overs, Abhishek continued the carnage with two sixes and a four off Chahal, bringing up SRH's 200 in the 15th over.
Thakur was smashed for another six and four before Arshdeep Singh finally ended Abhishek's dream innings in the 17th over. But it was too little, too late, as Heinrich Klaasen (21) and Ishan Kishan (9) finished the chase comfortably.
Earlier, openers Priyansh Arya (36) and Prabhsimran Singh (42) provided a blazing 66-run start, but it was skipper Shreyas Iyer who anchored the innings with a whirlwind 82 off 36 balls, hitting six sixes and as many fours. He shared a 73-run stand off 40 balls with Nehal Wadhera (22).
Marcus Stoinis provided the final flourish, hammering Mohammed Shami (0/75) for four consecutive sixes in the last over as Punjab Kings posted a daunting total.
On a belter of a pitch, the PBKS openers came out all guns blazing, powering their side to a commanding 89/1 in the Powerplay.
Prabhsimran set the tone by hitting Mohammed Shami (0/75) for three boundaries, before Priyansh tore into Pat Cummins (0/40) with a six and two fours. The left-hander then smashed Shami for two successive sixes and a four, while Prabhsimran flicked another delivery for a maximum as Punjab raced to 50 in just three overs.
Harshal Patel (4/42) eventually broke the opening stand, outfoxing Priyansh with a slower delivery that was mistimed to Nitish Reddy.
Harshal could have had Prabhsimran too, but Abhishek Sharma dropped a difficult chance. The Kings ended the Powerplay on a high, with Iyer finishing it in style with a six.
SRH finally got some relief when Sri Lankan pacer Eshan Malinga (2/45), making his IPL debut, dismissed Prabhsimran in the next over after the opener slapped a slower ball straight to Cummins.
However, Malinga was taken apart in his second over, with Iyer and Wadhera hitting him for a six each.
Leg-spinner Zeeshan Ansari, who bowled two tight overs without conceding a boundary, was then launched for two sixes and a reverse-hit four by Iyer over long-off, showcasing the PBKS skipper's form and flair.
Iyer completed his half-century with a sliced boundary off Shami, while Wadhera kept the scoreboard ticking with a fine-leg swipe.
PBKS lost two quick wickets as Malinga produced a yorker to dismiss Wadhera, and Harshal Patel trapped Shashank Singh (2) LBW after a successful DRS review, reducing the visitors to 168/4 in the 15th over.
Unfazed, Iyer continued the carnage, smashing Ansari over extra cover and punishing Malinga with three successive boundaries as PBKS crossed the 200-run mark in the 17th over.
Harshal came back strongly in the 18th over, removing Glenn Maxwell and Iyer within three balls to peg Punjab back.
Stoinis provided the final flourish, hammering a hapless Shami for four consecutive sixes in the last four balls of the innings, as PBKS finished with a towering total.