Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) made history by surpassing Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) long-standing record for the highest total in an IPL match. They achieved this feat by posting an impressive score of 277 for 3 against Mumbai Indians in the eighth match of the current IPL 2024 season on Wednesday, March 27.
The recent decision by the Mumbai Indians to bring back Hardik Pandya from the Gujarat Titans and appoint him as captain, replacing Rohit Sharma, stirred up strong emotions among fans. Supporters of Rohit Sharma and loyal fans of the Mumbai Indians were disheartened, feeling that Rohit had been unfairly treated. Consequently, Hardik Pandya faced a wave of criticism and hostility.
In their first IPL 2024 match against the Gujarat Titans, held in Ahmedabad, the crowd’s reaction spoke volumes. Fans of Rohit Sharma expressed their dissatisfaction by booing and jeering at Hardik Pandya, despite his association with the Mumbai Indians. This incident highlighted Rohit Sharma’s revered status within the Mumbai Indians franchise. Unfortunately for the Mumbai Indians, the match against the Gujarat Titans ended in defeat, despite initially showing promise during the chase. The loss further intensified the scrutiny on the decision to make Hardik Pandya captain and the subsequent backlash against him.
On Wednesday (March 27), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) broke the Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) long-standing record for the highest total in the IPL, posting a massive score of 277 for 3 against the Mumbai Indians in the eighth match of the ongoing IPL 2024.
Given the opportunity to bat first, SRH came out aggressively, with players like Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, and Heinrich Klaasen scoring rapid half-centuries. Despite Mayank Agarwal’s early dismissal for 11, Head and Sharma continued to dominate. Head reached his fifty in just 18 balls, breaking the record for the fastest fifty for SRH in the IPL.
However, Abhishek Sharma soon surpassed Head’s record, achieving his fifty in just 16 balls. After the departure of Head and Sharma, Klaasen took over, smashing a fifty off 23 balls to propel his team to a formidable total of 277 for 3. Klaasen remained unbeaten on 80 off just 34 balls.
In the final over of the innings, Klaasen’s six off Shams Mulani helped SRH surpass RCB’s long-standing record for the highest total in the IPL. RCB had scored 263 for 5 against the now-defunct Pune Warriors India in 2013.
Facing a daunting target of 278 runs, the Mumbai Indians made a blistering start, scoring 76 runs in the first six powerplay overs. By the 11th over, Hardik Pandya & Co. had surpassed the 150-run mark. However, they could only manage to reach 246-5 by the end of the innings, ultimately losing the match by 31 runs.
When Hardik Pandya walked in to bat at number 5, MI were 150/3 in 10.1 overs. He started well with a couple of big hits but struggled to find his rhythm afterward. Pandya and Tilak Varma, who scored 64 runs off 34 balls, had a partnership of 32 runs off 22 balls, during which Pandya contributed 19 runs off 13 balls. This phase could be considered where MI lost momentum.
Partnering with Tim David, Hardik Pandya added 5 more runs in 7 balls before being dismissed by Jaydev Unadkat. Pandya’s dismissal came after he had settled in and consumed several deliveries, leaving Tim David, who scored 42 runs off 22 balls, with too much to do. Ultimately, MI fell short by 31 runs, a smaller margin than expected considering SRH’s massive total of 277.
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