Follow UsComing in at three, Abhishek Sharma played a blinder, smashing 63 off just 23 deliveries, which paved the way for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to register a mammoth 277 on the board against Mumbai Indians (MI) in Hyderabad on March 27 (Wednesday). Before Abhishek, Travis Head also marked his SRH debut with a quick-fire fifty, and then Heinrich Klaasen finished things off with an unbeaten 34-ball 80 to put his side beyond reach.
Abhishek, who won the player of the match for his efforts, said that the team management's ability to give each batter the freedom to express themselves is key.
"I think the message was pretty much simple for all the batters in the meeting we had before this match. 'Everyone just go and express yourself'. That's a very positive message if you get it from your captain and coach. That's really supportive for all the batters," Abhishek told reporters after the game.
Abhishek put on 68 off just 22 deliveries for the second wicket with Head. "I was batting with Travis, and he is one of my favourite batters. I really enjoyed batting with him," he said.
Tilak Varma (64 off 24), Tim David (42* off 22), and Hardik Pandya (24 off 20) threatened to take the game away from SRH with their expansive strokeplay, but Abhishek said that his bowlers were prepared for such a situation.
"When Tilak Varma, Hardik bhai and even Tim David were batting, we were still a bit, I won't say worried but concerned. The way they were playing it was very good but we knew our bowlers were very much prepared for this kind of situation and they executed really well," the 23-year old said.
SRH will hope to get two on the bounce when they take on Gujarat Titans (GT) in their next game at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, on March 31 (Sunday).