The young Sunrisers Hyderabad batter smashed 141 off just 55 balls—the highest-ever IPL score by an Indian—as SRH chased down a huge 246-run target against Punjab Kings, ending a four-match losing streak in style on Saturday.
And the wildest part? Sharma was recovering from fever and had barely trained all week.
“I’d been sick for four days,” he admitted after the match. “But I had this thought in the morning—I wrote in my diary that whatever I do today, I’ll do it for the Orange Army.”
That thought became the spark. Sharma raised his bat for a 40-ball century, pulling a small note from his pocket in celebration.
But it wasn’t all smooth sailing leading up to the knock. Sharma had been under pressure after a run of poor form. He credited mentors Yuvraj Singh and Suryakumar Yadav for keeping him mentally strong.
“They kept calling me, checking in, telling me I could do it—even when I started to doubt myself,” he said. “When someone like Yuvi Pa or SKY believes in you, you start believing too.”
Sharma rode his luck on the way—dropped once and saved by a no-ball on another occasion—but he made full use of the lifelines, sending the Punjab bowlers to all parts of the ground.
“Of course there was pressure,” he said. “It would be a lie to say there wasn’t. But the whole team stayed positive, even after four losses.”
Meanwhile, Punjab Kings’ spin coach Sunil Joshi pointed to missed chances and a lack of dot balls as the reasons behind their defeat.
“We knew it would be a high-scoring game. But you can’t let those half-chances slip in matches like this. And our dot ball percentage in the middle overs wasn’t good enough.”
Sharma’s explosive knock not only set a new Indian benchmark in the IPL but also reignited SRH’s campaign—with just the right mix of belief, support, and a little bit of luck.
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