A phenomenon unfolded at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru as the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) shattered the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 highest team total record not once, but twice in a season. The audience witnessed a historic moment during the 30th match of the TATA IPL 2024 as SRH posted an astounding 287 for three, surging past their previous high score of 277 against the Mumbai Indians (MI). Bengaluru’s iconic cricket venue now proudly features two of the top three highest team totals ever recorded in IPL history.
The rarity of breaking a record is noteworthy, but to shatter it twice in the same season is a testament to the exceptional batting prowess of SRH. The pitch, notorious for high-scoring games, saw SRH batting first, and what followed was an assault on the RCB bowling lineup, surpassing the wildest dreams of cricket aficionados.
Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head commenced the onslaught, their bats unleashing terror upon the RCB bowlers. With Will Jacks rolling his arm over as the opening spinner for RCB, little did he know the fate that awaited the pacers at the opposite end. Reece Topley’s initial over hemorrhaged 20 runs, followed by Lockie Ferguson’s introduction, which was met with a devastating 18-run over. With SRH sprinting to 76 within the powerplay, Travis Head’s half-century flashed on the scoreboard in a mere 20 deliveries.
Head’s blistering powerplay set the stage for an even more explosive onslaught. Jacks, returning for the seventh over, was greeted with an unforgiving triad of two sixes and a four by Head. Whether facing spin or pace, Head demonstrated an answer for all; dispatching short-pitched deliveries effortlessly and pouncing on fuller balls with front-foot aggression. Abhishek chimed in with a monstrous six, bringing up the team’s century in the seventh over, before falling to Topley.
Heinrich Klaasen entered the fray, and though his settling in was comparatively subdued, it was Travis Head who seized the moment, reaching his century off just 39 balls – the fourth fastest in TATA IPL history. Ferguson ultimately claimed Head’s wicket, but by then, the damage was a staggering 165 for two in the 13th over – and there was no sign of alleviation for RCB; because then it was Klaasen’s turn to dominate.
The 14th over unleashed an 18-run onslaught from Klaasen’s bat including two sixes. As the 15th drew to a close, SRH soared beyond the 200-mark, inching closer to their own record. Klaasen’s scorching 67 off 31 deliveries continued until Ferguson once again broke through in the 17th over.
By the 18th over, the scoreboard read a towering 241 for three, setting the stage for Abdul Samad. Feeding off the momentum established by his predecessors, Samad stitched together a rapid 37* from just 10 balls, rendering the new record a reality with a single in the final over.
For RCB, the improbable chase was tantamount to scaling Mount Everest, yet the home team exuded resilience. Openers Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis held nothing back, propelling RCB to a competitive 79 in the powerplay. Kohli’s exceptional 42 off 20 deliveries crescendoed with the roaring Bengaluru crowd before Mayank Markande’s leg spin clinched his wicket.
Du Plessis’ fifty came off a brisk 23 balls, and though the middle-order witnessed a tremor with Jacks, Patidar, and Chauhan adding a modest 16 runs collectively, the scoreboard showed a promising 122 for five at the mid-innings mark.
The latter half of RCB’s batting spectacle was illuminated by Dinesh Karthik’s aggressive antics. His whirlwind fifty, off the same number of balls as his captain, escalated into a breathtaking 83 off 35, peppered with seven sixes. In any other context, it was a performance worthy of victory, but against SRH’s monumental total, it highlighted the herculean effort required.
RCB’s campaign concluded at 262 for seven, with SRH relishing a 25-run triumph. On this epochal day in IPL, both sides’ bowlers saw their economy rates eclipsed by the sheer batting brilliance on display. SRH’s historic achievement will long be remembered as a demonstration of supreme batting prowess that electrified cricket fans globally and heightened the stature of the ever-thrilling IPL.