"It seems like he destroys any team that wears a blue jersey" - Aakash Chopra lauds Travis Head's knock in SunRisers Hyderabad's IPL 2024 win vs MI
Aakash Chopra has lauded Travis Head for playing a match-winning knock in the SunRisers Hyderabad's (SRH) IPL 2024 clash against the Mumbai Indians (MI).
Head smashed 62 runs off 24 deliveries as SRH set MI a mammoth 278-run target after being asked to bat first in Hyderabad on Wednesday, March 27. The home team then restricted Hardik Pandya and company to 246/5 to register a 31-run win.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra noted that Head virtually did an encore of his destructive knock from the ODI World Cup final against India.
"Travis Head came and destroyed. It seems like he destroys any team that wears a blue jersey. First Indians and then Mumbai Indians. If there is a match against him, wear a yellow or purple jersey, or Rajasthan's pink one, because he is not sparing the blue ones. He has been absolutely stellar," he elaborated (12:30).
The former India opener also praised the other SunRisers Hyderabad batters for bringing their explosive game to the fore.
"Travis Head hit and then Abhishek Sharma did the job Head was doing. He hit a lot and batted extremely well. From where he left, Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen hit. (Jasprit) Bumrah came in the end but they didn't stop," Chopra added.
Abhishek Sharma smoked 63 runs off just 23 deliveries with the help of three fours and seven sixes. Aiden Markram (42* off 28) and Heinrich Klaasen (80* off 34) then stitched together an unbroken 116-run fourth-wicket partnership to take the SunRisers Hyderabad to a record IPL total.
"He bowled the difficult overs" - Aakash Chopra praises SunRisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins' spell
![Pat Cummins registered figures of 2/35 in four overs. [P/C: iplt20.com]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/03/5bddd-17116051233155-1920.jpg?w=500)
Aakash Chopra appreciated Pat Cummins for utilizing himself effectively.
"I think Pat Cummins' bowling was the game-changing thing. He bowled his four overs in different spells. He bowled the difficult overs, which we criticize him for, that he doesn't do that, but he did that this time," he said (16:40).
The cricketer-turned-commentator reckons Cummins and Bhuvneshwar Kumar's bowling in the middle overs swayed the game in the SunRisers Hyderabad's favor.
"He used his fingers very well. He was outstanding. There was a three-over phase in between, Pat Cummins and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were bowling, where Mumbai were suddenly left behind and Hyderabad went ahead. I think that is where it actually changed," Chopra noted.
The Mumbai Indians managed only 25 runs between the 13th and 16th overs. While Cummins conceded only three runs in the 15th over, Bhuvneshwar and Jaydev Unadkat gave away just five runs apiece in the one over each they bowled in that period.