Abhishek Sharma tore into Chennai Super Kings on Saturday, reaching a fifty in 15 balls as Sunrisers Hyderabad flew to 63/0 after five overs in their IPL 2026 match in Hyderabad. He was unbeaten on 50 off 15 deliveries, while Travis Head made 11 off 15 at the other end.
Ruturaj Gaikwad had won the toss and chose to bowl first, but the plan unraveled almost immediately as Sharma and Head opened the innings for Sunrisers Hyderabad. Sharma’s innings featured 5 fours and 4 sixes, and the 15-ball half-century stood as the fastest for Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The opening burst gave Hyderabad the kind of start that can change a match before the fielding side has settled. Chennai did find a way back when Mukesh Choudhary removed Head and Ishan Kishan in consecutive deliveries, but by then Sharma had already put the innings on a different pace.
For Sunrisers Hyderabad, the first five overs did more than set a platform. They announced a warning to Chennai’s attack, and they did it in one of the shortest, sharpest assaults the franchise has seen in the IPL.