Left Arm Around

Sunrisers Hyderabad clinch a 31-run victory over Mumbai Indians after a stunning display of batting at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

Travis Head repaid his steep price tag to strike a brutal 61 on his SRH debut, before Abishek Sharma continued their momentum with a 16-ball fifty as the home side peppered the boundaries with a startling, unrelenting ease.

South African pair Aiden Markram and the imperious Heinrich Klaasen then combined for a brilliant stand of 116 from only 54 deliveries.

Klaasen, 32, remained unbeaten on 80 from just 34 deliveries after hitting 4 fours and 7 sixes; continuing the outstanding form he demonstrated against Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday evening.

Their mammoth score of 277-3 is a domestic T20 record, with Nepal’s 314/3 against Mongolia at the Asian Games in September 2023 still the highest score in overall T20 history.

A match total of 523 runs between the two sides was also the highest in T20 history.

17-year-old pace bowler Kwena Maphaka had a rude awakening to IPL cricket as he conceded 66 runs in his four over spell.

The South African left-armer starred with 21 wickets at an average of 9.71 in the recent Under 19 World Cup, but here suffered at the hands of a rampant Head, Sharma and Klaasen.

His national compatriot Gerald Coetzee was also punished for 57 runs despite prizing the key scalp of Travis Head.

MI raced to 56-0 in 3.1 overs when Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan fired out the blocks, but the pair fell in quick succession as Kishan holed out to Markram and captain Pat Cummins removed Sharma courtesy of a smart Abishek catch on the square-leg boundary.

Naman Dhir then struck 30 and Tilak Varma impressed with a 34-ball 64, though no remaining partnerships lasted long enough to seriously challenge their improbable target of 278.

The visitors were consigned to their second defeat in as many matches despite hitting 20 sixes; falling 31 runs short as they finished 246-5.

SRH claimed a first win of the season in their second game to climb to third in the IPL table.