SRH slam 287/3 against RCB to record highest total in IPL history
The SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) put on 287/3 in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) clash against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday to record the highest-ever total in the competition.
It only took SRH a little over two weeks to break their own record after having amassed 277/3 in the win over Mumbai Indians (MI) at their home venue, the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
This time around, after being put into bat first by Faf du Plessis, SRH went hard from the word go. The in-form pair of Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head went effortlessly hard in the powerplay, piling on 76 runs without losing a wicket.
Abhishek Sharma departed after the duo had put on 108 runs for the opening wicket. However, that did not deter SRH even a bit. Head continued his onslaught, bringing up his hundred off only 39 deliveries, the fourth-fastest ton in IPL history.
Heinrich Klaasen took over the baton in the middle overs and scored 67 runs off just 31 deliveries. Then it was the Abdul Samad (37* off 10) and Aiden Markram (32* off 17) show at the death. SRH managed to score 82 runs off the final five overs, which helped them breach their own record.
SRH scored 22 sixes in their innings to record 2nd highest T20 score of all time
SRH's mammoth effort is only bettered by Nepal's 314/3 against Mongolia in the Asian Games 2023 in the list of highest scores in the format. Half of SRH's runs came through their 22 sixes spread across the innings, which is also a new IPL record, breaking RCB's record of 21 maximums in the famous clash against Pune Warriors India in the 2013 edition.
Klaasen and Samad had even managed to clear the stadium with some of their hits. The former's imperious 106-meter six ranks among one of the biggest sixes this season.
Star of the first innings, Travis Head, remarked that the team have made it a point to keep the momentum going after a quick start.
"Nice wicket. Got to contribute at the right time. Just tried to maximise my opportunities. We got off to a really nice start. I don't know, that was proper batting. We have tried to take on the game (after quick starts). We just try to maximise the powerplay and then we try to keep going." Head said in a mid-innings interview with the broadcasters.
RCB have to put in a historic shift to chase down 288. They also have the net run rate to deal with as their campaign is already on very thin ice.