IPL 2025: Abhishek fires as SRH pull off thrilling 246 run chase against PBKS

Hyderabad: Sunrisers Hyderabad ended their poor batting performance this season with a thrilling chase against Punjab Kings, securing the second-highest run chase in the history of the IPL. The home side clinched a commanding eight-wicket victory over Punjab in their IPL 2025 match here on Saturday.

Abhishek Sharma was the player of the match, who scored an impressive 141 off 55 deliveries to fire power SRH to a win with 9 balls to spare. His 141 is the third-highest individual score in the tournament's history, behind Chris Gayle’s 175 and Brendon McCullum’s 158.

This also marks the highest successful run chase by any team in the 2025 season of the tournament. Hyderabad, known for their big-hitting prowess, had struggled to maintain form after opening their campaign with a massive 286 against the Rajasthan Royals.

Chasing a target of 246, openers Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head were in no mood to relax and faced the bowlers with fury. The team score reached 76 after five overs, and the surprise was yet to come. 

Abhishek then completed his fifty in just 19 balls. The Punjab skipper tried everything he could to stop the assault, but it was of no use. 

Punjab finally made a breakthrough in the 12th over, with Yuzvendra Chahal claiming the wicket of Travis Head after making 66 off 37. he was dismissed, gifting a simple catch to his Australian teammate Glenn Maxwell. 

But the wicket came at the wrong time for Punjab as the damage was already done. Heinrich Klaasen joined Abhishek, and there was nothing stopping them from scoring boundaries. Meanwhile, Abhinshek completed his century in the 13th over.

Abhishek was dismissed in the 16th over when the team score was 222. Arshdeep Singh claimed his wicket. However, Klaasen and Ishan Kishan sealed the victory for the home side. 

Earlier, Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh gave Punjab a good start, scoring 66 runs in just 4 overs. Arya was the dangerous one among the duo, who smashed four sixes to spearhead the team's score.

Iyer came in at the fourth over and continued from where Arya left off. He was relentless in facing Hyderabad bowlers and quick-fired the teams' innings. Meanwhile, the Punjab captain reached his fastest fifty in his IPL career off just 22 balls. 

After P Singh was dismissed in the sixth over for a well-made 42, Nehal Wadhera walked in and held his ground at one end while Iyer took the attack to the bowlers from the other. 

The duo added 73 runs in seven overs, but Wadhers was dismissed for 27 by Eshan Malinga. Shashank Singh and Glenn Maxwell departed early. Iyer also followed Maxwell in the same over, with a simple catch for Travis Head off Harshal Patel's delivery. He made 82 off just 36 balls.

Stoinis stayed on till the end and ensured that Punjab reached 245 runs. He struck the last ball of the innings for a six to remain unbeaten at 34 runs. 

Harshal Patel was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets while Malinga claimed two.