Think you’ve seen it all in T20 cricket? Think again! This was a match where bowlers begged for mercy, records crumbled, and sixes rained like never before
When Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Mumbai Indians (MI) transformed the IPL into a video game simulation on March 27 2024, cricket fans experienced a night like no other. Balls continued to vanish into the stands, records fell, and the scoreboard changed too rapidly for anyone to keep pace.
In a match that felt more like a fireworks display than a cricket game, SRH, batting first, scored an astonishing 277 for 3, breaking the Royal Challengers Bangalore’s 263-run record set in 2013. However, MI refused to succumb easily, launching their own assault before ultimately falling short at 246 for 5, the highest chase ever in a losing cause.
Travis Head was not here to waste time. The Australian dynamo was swinging, sending the Mumbai bowlers into a frenzy. He found the boundary with the very first ball he faced.
Credit: ESPNcricinfo
By the end of the powerplay, Head had scored 59 off just 24 balls. He tore apart 17-year-old debutant Kwena Maphaka, propelling the ball into the night sky. Head (62) smashed an 18-ball fifty, the quickest by any SRH batter in IPL history. But guess what? His record lasted just a few minutes!
Enter Abhishek Sharma, who arrives at No. 3 with a single mission: to escalate the carnage and he did. The left-hander capitalised on Piyush Chawla’s leg spin, smashing him for three consecutive sixes.
Credit: ESPNcricinfo
He swiftly surpassed Head’s record, scoring fifty runs in just 16 balls! The SRH batters appeared to engage in their little rivalry during the match. With seven sixes in twenty-three balls, Abhishek’s relentless 63 left MI’s bowlers searching for answers.
When the dust settled from Head and Abhishek’s fireworks, MI’s bowlers breathed a sigh of relief. But Heinrich Klaasen was only just getting started.
SRH had already reached 200 in the 15th over, but Klaasen was far from satisfied. He targeted Shams Mulani and utilised his powerful hitting to clear long distances. Since 2022, he has maintained a strike rate of 174.38 against spinners in T20s, and he lived up to that reputation by smashing a fifty off just 22 balls.
Credit: ESPNcricinfo
By the end of the innings, SRH had amassed the then highest IPL total at that time —277 for 3. The scoreboard had never seemed so surreal.
If you thought the Mumbai Indians would give in, think again. Rohit Sharma (26) and Ishan Kishan (34) provided a solid start, matching SRH’s pace during the powerplay.
However, Tilak Varma and Tim David pushed MI to the brink of the unthinkable. Tilak’s audacious 64 and David’s explosive 42 kept the chase alive until the final overs.
Credit: ESPNcricinfo
At one point, MI required 70 runs from the last five overs, and with the six-hitting frenzy, anything seemed possible. However, Pat Cummins and Jaydev Unadkat held their nerve in the closing overs to secure a 31-run victory for SRH.
Credit: ESPNcricinfo
Highest total in IPL history at that time – 277/3 by SRH (SRH broke it on April 15, 2024: 287/3)
Highest chase in a losing cause in IPL – 246/5 by MI
Most runs in a T20 match – 523 (Previous: 517, Central Districts vs Otago, 2016)
Most sixes in a T20 match– 38 (Previous: 37, Balkh Legends vs Kabul Zwanan, 2018)
The fastest fifty for SRH – 16 balls by Abhishek Sharma (Previous: 18 balls by Travis Head… set earlier in the same match!)
