Top 5 fastest fifties by an SRH batter in the IPL ft. Abhishek Sharma & Travis Head
SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) defeated Mumbai Indians (MI) in a historic match in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Wednesday, March 27. Mumbai opted to bowl first, and they were greeted by a storm from SRH batters. Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, and Heinrich Klasen scored brilliant half-centuries and guided SRH to the highest-ever IPL total of 277 runs, breaking the previous record held by RCB of 263 runs.
In response, MI started brilliantly; however, they lost their way towards the end courtesy of some good bowling by SRH captain Pat Cummins and seasoned pacer Jaydev Unadkat. The Mumbai-based franchise scored 246 runs in their 20 overs and lost by 31 runs. The five-time champions have began their campaign on a disappointing note, losing two games in a row under new captain Hardik Pandya.
However, what took the limelight was SRH's destructive batting, and we witnessed some quickfire fifties from their batters. Over the past few years, we have seen some amazing batters play for SRH, who have scored some brilliant fifties.
On that note, in this article, we will take a look at the top five fastest fifties by an SRH batter in the IPL.
#5 Mosies Henriques comes to the party in Hyderabad
The fifth on the list is Moises Henriques, who scored a 20-ball fifty against RCB in 2015. This innings came in a rain-hit game when SRH scored 135 runs, batting first in 11 overs. Henriques, along with David Warner, starred for SRH. The former scored 57 runs on 22 balls, including five boundaries and four maximums.
Later, the rain again played its part, and RCB had to chase 81 runs in six overs. The Royal Challengers managed to chase it down thanks to brilliant innings from Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle, with a ball remaining.
Meanwhile, Moises scored a top knock for SRH, and in the bowling, he picked up two wickets in one over and conceded only three runs.
#4 David Warner goes berserk against KKR
One cannot keep David Warner’s name away when talking about SRH. In season 9 of the IPL, Warner smashed a 20-ball fifty against the Kolkata Knight Riders. The former SRH captain then went on to score a brilliant century, guiding his team to a score of 209 in 20 overs. Warner scored 126 runs on 59 balls; his innings included 10 fours and eight sixes.
Kolkata didn’t really look comfortable while chasing and eventually lost the match by 48 runs. Warner showed his class in the match by scoring an amazing century and powering SRH to a win against KKR.
#3 Another world-class innings by Warner
David Warner’s 20-ball half-century against CSK in match no. 34 of IPL 2015 was the third fastest fifty by an SRH batter in the IPL. The Australian batter helped the SunRisers post a respectable 192 runs in 20 overs. The southpaw struck 61 runs off just 28 balls, which included 11 fours and one six.
While chasing, no CSK batter managed to play a big innings, resulting in their defeat by 22 runs. After all these years, David Warner’s inning against CSK still remains one of the fastest by an SRH batter.
#2 Travis Head returns to IPL cricket in some style
SunRisers Hyderabad broke the record for the highest team total in the IPL on March 27, 2024, against the Mumbai Indians, and the pioneer of this was Travis Head. The left-handed batter went after MI bowlers from the first delivery and scored an 18-ball fifty, which became the fastest for SRH for about 15 minutes. Overall, Head scored 62 runs on 24 balls, which included nine fours and three sixes.
It was the first IPL match since 2017 for the Australian World Cup-winning player. Head was not in the lineup for SRH’s first match, but he made the best use of the opportunity in the second one, helping his team reach a historic score.
#1 Abhishek Sharma scored the fastest fifty by an SRH player in the IPL
Travis Head became the player to score the fastest fifty for SRH, but his record was broken by the young Indian batter Abhishek Sharma in the very same match, barely after 15 minutes. The southpaw scored his fifty in 16 balls (fastest by an SRH batter) and looked in great touch.
Abhishek scored 63 runs in 23 balls before he was caught out at deep mid-wicket, which included three fours and seven sixes. The SRH batter looked in sublime form and was one of the batters to help SRH post the highest-ever IPL total. Abhishek has started the season on a good note and will be looking to play many such innings in the upcoming matches.