Talks of Vaibhav Suryavanshi displacing Abhishek Sharma in India’s T20I team have irked the latter. A day after the 15-year-old smashed Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar all over the park in Guwahati, scoring 78 off 26 and guiding the Rajasthan Royals (RR) to a mammoth 97-run powerplay, Abhishek has outperformed the teenager.
Abhishek Sharma annihilates PBKS in powerplay
The Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) opener hadn’t gotten going yet in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. Having scored a silver duck against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the last match. Against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Mullanpur, Abhishek came out with fury.
He opened his account with a four, going over covers against Arshdeep Singh. Xavier Bartlett wasn’t spared, with Abhishek targeting the ‘V’ for two more boundaries. He put Arshdeep under immense pressure in the third over of the powerplay. Forcing him to deliver 4 wides.
He scored 20 runs, 2 fours, and 2 sixes against the left-arm fast bowler and raced off to 34 (13). Meanwhile, Travis Head was just 3 (5) on the other end. A change in bowling, Marco Jansen, didn’t work. Head took the tall South African down, but Abhishek absolutely butchered Vijaykumar Vyshak in the penultimate over, smashing 4 sixes to reach his first half-century of IPL 2026 in just 18 balls.
Bartlett was brought back by PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer and was dispatched. On the penultimate ball of the field restriction, Abhishek hit a six, helping SRH cross the 100-run mark in the powerplay itself for the third time in the IPL.
Highest Powerplay Score in IPL
| Powerplay Score | Team | Opposition | Year | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 125/0 | SRH | DC | 2024 | Delhi |
| 107/0 | SRH | LSG | 2024 | Lucknow |
| 105/0 | SRH | PBKS | 2026 | New Chandigarh |
| 105/0 | KKR | RCB | 2017 | Bengaluru |
| 100/2 | CSK | PBKS | 2014 | Mumbai |
The rampage ended in the 9th over, with part-timer Shashank Singh getting the better of both Head and Abhishek. The former ended with a 165.22 strike rate, 38 (23). But the latter nearly matches Suryavanshi, striking at 264.29. Hitting 8 sixes and 5 fours in 28 balls, scoring 74 runs.
Cricket
Abhishek Sharma outmatches Vaibhav Suryavanshi as SRH register 3rd highest powerplay score in IPL
