You can’t keep a good batter quiet. Abhishek Sharma had been struggling for form in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. But you just knew that his time was going to come. And against Punjab Kings (PBKS), he was back at his best.
SRH had to chase a mammoth 246-run total at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, and without Abhishek, this would have been a virtually impossible task. And as luck would have it, after five consecutive failures, the opener returned to form and did that too in an emphatic manner.
Abhishek Sharma in IPL 2025
Vs Rajasthan Royals: 24 (11)
Vs Lucknow Super Giants: 6 (6)
Vs Delhi Capitals: 1 (1)
Vs Kolkata Knight Riders: 2 (6)
Vs Gujarat Titans: 18 (16)
Vs Punjab Kings: 141 (55)
Overall: 192 (91) (Average: 32.00 and Strike Rate: 210.98)
Abhishek Sharma makes PBKS pay
Abhishek hadn’t managed to go past the powerplay since the IPL 2024 season. Against PBKS, he managed to scale that hurdle. He brought his fifty in just 19 balls. As SRH took control of the chase. But his knock wasn’t chanceless. In fact, he was dropped thrice on his way to the fifty.
He got his first chance in the 2nd over as Marcus Stoinis failed to grab a very tough chance in the 30-yard circle. Then in the 4th over, Yash Thakur had got him caught at deep point. As Abhishek started to walk, the buzzer went off. It was a no-ball. He was batting at 28 (8) and went on to smash 22 runs in the next 11 balls.
But Abhishek’s luck didn’t run out there. In the 8th over, he was dropped once again. Yuzvendra Chahal has deceived him as the ball went high in the air. Chahal himself went running to the mid-wicket region and got his hands on the ball, but before he hit the ground, it popped out.
Second-fastest IPL hundred by an Indian
Abhishek had already scored a fifty by then and perhaps had already done his job, but when PBKS gave him a third chance, he made sure to make it count. And boy did he. He was 56 (22) when he was dropped for a third time and from there went on to score 44 runs in 18 balls.
A 40-ball hundred at his IPL home. It is the second-fastest hundred by an Indian batter in the league. The record was created by Priyansh Arya just five days ago when he hit a 39-ball century against Chennai Super Kings. It is also the fifth fastest in the IPL’s history.
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