They have hunted in pairs. They have decimated opposition attacks. They have redefined batting in the powerplay. They have made a big statement and how! Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma have taken the 17th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) by storm unleashing an onslaught of epic proportions against the new ball and provided the Sunrisers with blitzkrieg starts in almost every outing this season. They have set new standards for batting and stirred a mini-revolution with their approach in the tournament.

The most runs & the highest SR for a pair in the tournament

Head and Sharma have added 404 runs in six innings at an average of 67.3 this season. The Australian has been the more dominating partner contributing 217 runs in the partnership. No pair has added more runs than the SRH opening duo. They have already hammered two century partnerships – a feat not matched by any other pair in the tournament. What makes the impact of their volume of runs rise exponentially is the rate at which they have scored them! The partnership strike rate of Head-Sharma is a stunning 254.1 – the highest for any pair who has faced a minimum of 50 balls between them. In fact, it is the highest for any pair not only this season but in any edition of the IPL! That is how devastating their combination has been at the top of the order for SRH.

Blitzkrieg starts for SRH

The Sunrisers have an average run-rate of 12.4 in the powerplay – by far, the highest in the tournament. They have smashed 60+ five times (in 7 innings) in the powerplay this season – again, the most for any team in the tournament. Head and Sharma blasted 125 in the powerplay against the Capitals in Delhi – setting the record for the highest team score in the first 6 overs not only in the IPL but in any T20 match in history!

The blitzkrieg starts provided by the Head-Sharma duo have given SRH a big impetus at the start of their innings also giving their middle and lower-order the freedom and license to continue with the offensive. They have intimidated opposition attacks not caring about the bowler’s reputation and hammered them into submission.

Record totals

Courtesy the rampaging starts by Head-Sharma at the top of the order, SRH have gone on to break the record for the highest team total in IPL history not once but twice in the tournament! They broke the 11-year-old record of the Challengers when they piled on 277/3 against the Mumbai Indians in Hyderabad. Three weeks later, they broke their own record smashing 287/3 against the Challengers in Bengaluru. It was the second-highest team total in any T20 encounter after Nepal’s 314/3 against Mongolia in the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou. There was more to come. Five days later, SRH blasted another 250-plus score when they scored 266/7 against the Capitals in Delhi.

Essentially, SRH have piled up three of the four highest team totals in IPL history this season itself! This is an extraordinary achievement – the roots of which lie in the fillip given to them at the start by the dynamic duo of Head-Sharma.

Contribution in SRH wins

46 off 16 deliveries at a strike rate of 287.5 against CSK - SRH gun down 166 with almost two overs to spare. 68 off 22 deliveries at a strike rate of 309.1 against Mumbai Indians – SRH break the record for the highest team total in IPL history and defend the target by 31 runs. 108 off 49 deliveries against RCB – SRH break their own record and post 287/3 and win by 25 runs. 131 off 38 deliveries at a strike rate of 344.7 against the Capitals – the highest strike rate for a 100+ partnership in IPL history (the previous highest being 283.8 when Narine-Lynn smashed 105 off 37 deliveries for KKR against RCB in 2017) – SRH post 266/7 and win by 67 runs.

The Head-Sharma partnership has directly contributed to four of the five wins for SRH in the tournament. Overall, Head has an aggregate of 324 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 216 with one ton and two fifties in the tournament. Sharma has scored 257 runs in seven innings off just 119 deliveries at a strike rate of 215.96 with one fifty. While Head has the highest strike rate in the powerplay of 234.5 for all batters who have faced a minimum of 30 deliveries in this phase of play, Sharma is not far behind at number 3 with a powerplay scoring rate of 232.9! To now think that SRH did not start with Head in their opening encounter against KKR is almost blasphemous.

There are a few defining moments in a tournament’s history which capture the hearts and minds of generations to follow – the Royal’s win in the inaugural season under Shane Warne, Chris Gayle’s unbeaten 175 off 66 deliveries against the Pune Warriors, Kohli’s aggregate of 973 in 2016, CSK’s comeback win in 2018 and MI’s victory by a solitary run in the final in 2019 to name a few.

Add SRH’s batting revolution this season to the list above. It will have far-reaching consequences not only in the IPL but to T20 cricket as a whole. And Head and Sharma have played their little part in it.

(PS: Stats updated till 40 matches this season)

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