SunRisers Hyderabad batter Abhishek Sharma pulled out his signature ‘L’ celebration after hitting 18-ball fifty. On Saturday, the SunRisers were up against the Punjab Kings in the 17th game of the IPL 2026 at the Maharaja Yadvindra Singh International Stadium in New Chandigarh. Punjab, who have remained undefeated in the season thus far, won the toss and invited the rivals to put the score on the board first.
Abhishek Sharma, who came in to bat alongside Travis Head, came up with a quick 18-ball fifty. Sharma hit a six over long-on off a Vijaykumar Vyshak delivery on the fourth ball of the fifth over and recorded his first half-century of the season. He brought out his signature ‘L’ celebration to celebrate the achievement and received a hug from fellow opener Travis Head. The Indian batter was later dismissed on a Shashank Sharma delivery in the ninth over, the same over that removed Head. Sharma walked back at 74 runs off 28 deliveries.
SunRisers Hyderabad post 143 runs at the loss of two wickets
While Sharma came up with a crucial knock of 74 runs, with a combination of five boundaries and a total of eight sixes, his co-opener Head posted 38 runs off 23 balls. As of writing, skipper and wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan was batting at 9 runs off 8 deliveries along with Heinrich Klassen, who was at 10 runs in 8 balls. The guests were batting at 143 runs at the end of 11 overs.
Earlier during the toss, Kishan spoke about the unavailability of Pat Cummins, and said that while it is a disadvantage to not have him, they still have gotten a younger bowling side. He stated, “It's a big disadvantage for any team, Pat is a tremendous bowler. He gets on with an experience of his. But still, I feel we've got a young side, young bowlers today in the team. And hopefully, we'll just try and execute the plans, which is the most important thing in T20 cricket.”
