Sunrisers Hyderabad Dominate Delhi Capitals with Record-breaking Batting Display

Thanks to Travis Head's (89 off 32 balls) and Abhishek Sharma's (46 off 12 balls) opening partnership of 131 runs in only 6.2 overs, Sunrisers Hyderabad were certain to surpass the previous best IPL team total and maybe even cross 300 at the Ferozeshah Kotla on Saturday.

Even though they managed to score 266/7 in the end, it was not enough to overcome the Delhi Capitals, as the Sunrisers claimed a convincing 67-run victory to take the lead in the rankings with 10 points. The Kolkata Knight Riders are now in third place.

The Sunrisers' scorecard read 103/0 after only five overs when the Capitals, making their maiden appearance at the Kotla this season, chose to bowl first after winning the toss. At that point, Head was hitting 62 off 20 balls, elevating his Powerplay batting to a whole new level.

The dismissals of Heinrich Klaasen and Head progressively hurt the Sunrisers' hopes of reaching 300. The Sunrisers slowed down a little bit with the middle-overs strikes of Kuldeep Yadav (4/55) and the economical Axar Patel (1/29).

However, in the last overs for the Sunrisers, spinner all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed (59 not out off 29 balls) struck his first IPL half-century.

In response, Jake Frasur-McGurk, a young Australian who reached his second IPL fifty off just 15 balls, appeared almost as threatening as Head with his clean hitting (65 off 18 balls). But aside from the 22-year-old, the more well-known players struggled as the Capitals were dismissed for 199 in 19.1 overs. Just 16 runs were scored by captain Rishabh Pant from the first 20 balls he faced.

T. Natarajan (4/19), a pacer, was outstanding for the Sunrisers with his great distances.