Spectacular batting marked the afternoon at Mullanpur Stadium on Saturday during an IPL 2026 encounter. Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head stunned Punjab Kings with aggressive stroke play, propelling Sunrisers Hyderabad to 120 without loss in eight overs. Their Powerplay tally reached 105 without loss in six overs. Abhishek Sharma hit seven sixes during the Powerplay, totaling eight, matching the IPL record for the most sixes in that phase.
Sunrisers Hyderabad established a global milestone as the first men’s T20 team to exceed 100 runs in the Powerplay on three occasions. No other side has achieved this more than once.
Records for most sixes in the first six overs of an IPL innings:
7 – Sanath Jayasuriya (MI) vs CSK, Mumbai WS, 2008
7 – Jos Buttler (RR) vs DC, Delhi, 2018 (rain-affected match)
7 – Jonny Bairstow (PBKS) vs RCB, Brabourne, 2022
7 – Abhishek Sharma (SRH) vs PBKS, Mullanpur, 2026
Instances of 100 or more runs in the first six overs in IPL:
125/0 – SRH vs DC, Delhi, 2024
107/0 – SRH vs LSG, Hyderabad, 2024
105/0 – SRH vs PBKS, Mullanpur, 2026
105/0 – KKR vs RCB, Bengaluru, 2017
100/2 – CSK vs PBKS, Mumbai WS, 2014
Punjab Kings won the toss and chose to field first in the 17th match of IPL 2026 at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh.
Praful Hinge debuted for Sunrisers Hyderabad, stepping in for Jaydev Unadkat. Salil Arora replaced Liam Livingstone in two adjustments from their previous lineup.
PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer announced Priyansh Arya in the starting eleven, with Nehal Wadhera potentially entering as an Impact Player. At the toss, Iyer stated, ‘We will bowl first. It’s a daytime fixture, and we aim to assess the pitch conditions. We’ve followed this approach recently and succeeded. We support each other and encourage the young players to be themselves without overcomplicating things. We’re sticking with the same team, but with Priyansh replacing Nehal since we’re bowling first.’
SRH captain Ishan Kishan remarked, ‘We preferred to bowl first, but the pitch appears firm. The focus is on strong play in the opening innings. (On leadership) It’s challenging without Pat, who offers great experience as a bowler, but our youthful squad and bowlers can step up. Execution of strategies is key in T20. We have two changes: Salil replaces Livingstone, and Praful Hinge debuts instead of Jaydev Unadkat.’
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