Abhishek Sharma's innings key for SRH to win vs CSK, says Irfan Pathan

Former India cricketer, Irfan Pathan credited Abhishek Sharma for his blazing knock which propelled SRH to an emphatic win by 6 wickets against CSK at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad on April 5, Friday. Abhishek played a blistering knock of 37 runs from 12 balls that had a crucial role in SRH registering their 2nd win of the season. He was also adjudged as the Player of the Match for his quick fire innings.

Abhishek Sharma scored 37

SRH bounced back from their defeat to GT in Ahmedabad as they won their 2nd match at their home ground. Pathan, while speaking on Star Sports, lauded Abhishek for his impactful knock and mentioned that it could have been a difficult chase for SRH, had it not been for the young batter. Abhishek boasted the best batting strike rate in IPL 2024 so far, with 217.56.

"Abhishek Sharma's innings of 37 runs was of a big impact," Pathan said on Star Sports.

"If that inning would not have come with such a solid strike rate, in the end, it would have been a bit tighter than what it was, because there was a phase around the 15th and the 16th over, where SRH were panicking unnecessarily," Pathan added.

Abhishek provided SRH a flying start as he started hammering the ball from the word go. He took the CSK bowlers for cleaners on a sluggish pitch. SRH came blazing in the power play as they raced away in the chase by scoring 79 runs in the first 6 overs itself.

After Maheesh Theekshana broke the 60-run stand between Travis Head and Aiden Markram, CSK tried to pull things back courtesy of a fine spell by Moeen Ali in the middle overs. However, it turned out to be too late as SRH needed only a run-a-ball. Despite a big dip in their scoring rate, SRH managed a comfortable win with 11 balls to spare.

Pathan pointed out the SRH panicked unnecessarily during the middle of the chase.

"They didn't need to send Shahbaz Ahmed on top, they didn't need to play those big shots. It was well under 6 runs per over, it was an easy chase. But then Abhishek Sharma's innings in the end was so crucial. He is playing more than a strike rate of 200 for a youngster, that is outstanding," said Pathan.

Meanwhile, CSK slumped to their 2nd consecutive loss of the season and will look to bounce back as they host KKR at Chepauk on April 8, Monday.