Batting first, the Sunrisers went on a rampage from the world go as their openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma raised a 100-runs stand in mere five overs to create a new world record for a team reaching the three-figure mark in fastest time.
The 125 runs that the duo added in six overs is now the highest powerplay score in T20 cricket. The first 36 legitimate balls of the match saw the pair smashing 13 fours and 11 sixes.
Head ended up with 32-ball 89, which included a 16-ball fifty, which is the joint fastest of the season. Abhishek Sharma scored 46 off just 12 balls, giving him a strike rate of 383.33. Lower down the order, Shahbaz Ahmed smashed a 29-ball 59 not out, which included 5 sixes, to power the Sunrisers to a mammoth 266 for 7.
Witnessing the carnage, Steyn couldn’t stop himself from posting a philosophical note on microblogging website ‘X’.
“I could make a joke and say I’m glad I’m retired and no longer bowling, but…It’s always a good time to be a bowler, if you can make yourself the best, you’ll be a wanted god among mere mortals. The slayer of rampaging runs! Insensitive’s have never been higher. I’d wana be a bowler more than anything!” wrote Steyn.
To this, a user replied: “Just shorten it and say, ‘Be a Jasprit Bumrah!'”
In reply to that comment, Steyn posted: “Well, exactly that” with a laughing emoji.
Mumbai Indians’ spearhead Bumrah is currently on top of the list of wicket-takers in IPL 2024 with 13 wickets in 7 matches at an economy rate of just 5.96, while totals well in excess of 200 have almost become a norm this season.
Chasing a daunting target, Delhi, playing at their home ground, almost made a match of it before succumbing to the scoreboard pressure and lost by 67 runs.
They lost their openers David Warner (1) and Prithvi Shaw (16) within the first two overs. But their new batting sensations Jake Fraser-McGurk and Abishek Porel resuscitated the chase in style.
Jake smashed seven sixes and five fours at a strike rate of 361.11 to score 65 off just 18 balls, which included the season’s fastest half-century in just 15 balls. Porel, meanwhile, stroked 42 off 22 balls as the duo added 84 runs in just five overs. But once they departed, Delhi’s chase lost steam despite skipper Rishabh Pant’s fighting knock of 44.
The bowler that stood out among this carnage for SRH pacer T Natarajan, with excellent figures of 4 for 19.
The win took SRH to number two on the table with 10 points from five wins in seven matches