Sunrisers Hyderabad opener Abhishek Sharma revealed that his unique century celebration wasn’t a rehearsed gesture but a random thought he wrote in the morning that if he delivers, then it will be for the Orange Army. The 24-year-old produced a blitzkrieg 141 off just 55 deliveries, breaking KL Rahul’s record for the highest individual score by an Indian in Indian Premier League (IPL) history, becoming the third-highest overall. After reaching his maiden IPL century, the opener raised his bat and then pulled out a note with “THIS ONE IS FOR ORANGE ARMY” written on it.
When asked about his unique celebration during the post-match press conference, Abhishek said, “I wrote it today only because usually I wake up and write something. So, today I got a random thought that if I do something today, that will be for the Orange Army. So, luckily, I thought today was my day. I wrote it today, and I think it was a good, lucky day.”
Abhishek, who endured a tough outing in the last five games with a series of low scores of 24, 6, 1, 2, and 18, admitted that he came into the game with pressure.
“If I say no, it will be a lie. Obviously, there is pressure if you are not doing well for 3-4 innings. Especially if you are losing the matches. So, I think there is a little pressure on the individual in a team. But, as I said earlier in the presentation ceremony, I didn’t feel that there was anyone in the team who felt that we were losing the match or something.
“No one’s mindset was negative. Only positivity from everyone. Because everyone was waiting for such a blast to happen from the SRH team. And luckily, we had to break this losing streak,” he said.
The 24-year-old went in to reveal that he was also sick during the five-day break between the matches. “To be honest, I was sick for four days. I had a temperature. But luckily, I feel I am very grateful to have people like Yuvraj Singh and Suryakumar (Yadav) around me because they were the ones who were continuously calling me. Because they knew that I could do something like this,” he said.
“But still, as an individual, any player would have started doubting themselves a bit. But the thing was, it was pretty much clear that they believed in me. And you know, when someone like them believes in you, you obviously start believing again,” the left-handed opener added.
Abhishek, who raced to his fifty in just 16 deliveries, the fastest-ever by an SRH batter, stitched the 171-run partnership with Travis Head as SRH comfortably chased 246 with nine balls to spare, completing the highest successful run-chase in IPL history.
Reflecting on his record-opening stand with Head, Abhishek added, “There was nothing going on between us when we were at the pitch. It was just watching the ball and playing your game. Because whenever we played as partners or did something for the team, it’s always been on the winning side.
“So, we knew if we were going to give the team the start they wanted, it’s going to happen. And it was just a very simple talk. Even if you see me and Travis just, you know, complimenting each other, that was one of the biggest positive things we do.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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