Hyderabad, April 21: The 31st match of IPL 2026 took place between Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium. Abhishek Sharma delivered a stunning performance, smashing a century that eclipsed a significant T20 record held by Chris Gayle.
Abhishek showcased his batting prowess, scoring an unbeaten 135 runs off just 68 balls, with an impressive strike rate of 198. The left-handed batsman hit 10 fours and 10 sixes during his innings. With this performance, he became the player with the most innings of 130 or more runs in T20 cricket, achieving this milestone for the fourth time. He surpassed both Chris Gayle and Aaron Finch, who have each scored 130 or more runs in T20 cricket three times.
The bowlers from Delhi Capitals struggled to contain Abhishek, who played one of the fifth-highest innings in IPL history. During his explosive innings, he also completed 350 sixes in T20 cricket, making him one of the leading century-makers for India in this format. This was Abhishek’s ninth century in T20 cricket, tying him with Virat Kohli for the most centuries in this format for India.
Abhishek provided a fantastic start for SRH, partnering with Travis Head to score 97 runs for the first wicket in just 8.5 overs. Head contributed 35 runs off 26 balls before getting out. Following that, Abhishek teamed up with Ishan Kishan (25 runs) to add 79 runs for the second wicket in 35 balls.
In the third wicket partnership, he collaborated with Heinrich Klaasen (not out 37 runs) to score 66 runs off 32 balls. This marks Abhishek’s second innings of over 130 runs in IPL; previously, he scored an unbeaten 141 runs off 55 balls against Punjab Kings in IPL 2025.
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