Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) earned the ticket to the final for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, with a win over the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Eliminator at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Their opener Abhishek Sharma made a valuable contribution with the ball, as he ended up with figures of 2/24 in the four overs.
Those two wickets that he picked were the vital members of the opponent. Both Royals captain Sanju Samson, and Shimron Hetmyer could change the flow of the game in a blink of an eye if they had stayed a little longer in the middle.
Abhishek Sharma didn’t bowl much in the whole season, but the line and length and the consistency of his hitting those right areas have created questions among the opponents.
‘I had to convince my captain and coach…’ – Abhishek Sharma
The left-arm batter has been in tremendous touch in the opening position for the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Along with Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma has broken so many records in this tournament with the bat in hand.
The Punjab-born has smashed 482 runs so far in this IPL 2024, ahead of the final against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), at an average of 34.42 and a strike rate of 207.75. His three fifties too have come on firing notes for the ‘Orange Army’.
The final will be at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, and the home side, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are knocked out of the competition even before making their way into the playoffs. The young dashing opener, Abhishek Sharma has requested the CSK fans to come and support them in the final.
“I know in Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have got a massive fan following here. I would request all the CSK fans to come and support us in the final,” Abhishek Sharma said in a video which is shared by the IPL.
The ‘Orange Army’ are yet to beat the Knight Riders in this IPL 2024. During the league stage affair at the Eden Gardens, they fell short by four runs, while during the first qualifier at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, the two-time champions hammered the Hyderabad side by eight wickets.
“My father will be very happy; he was a left-arm spinner. He has been working really hard on my bowling,” Abhishek Sharma expressed. “Somehow, I knew that if I kept on working on my bowling I could contribute to my team. From the junior cricket, I have been bowling a lot.”
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“I was waiting for this opportunity. It was not easy, I had to convince my captain and coach because they had not seen me bowling much,” the young opening batter remarked.
One of the idols for Abhishek Sharma’s cricketing journey has been Yuvraj Singh, who has won many games for his teams with both bat and ball. The 23-year-old also talked about how the veteran encouraged him in his bowling.
“Whenever I had talks with Yuvi Paaji (Yuvraj Singh) about my bowling, he used to say that I can be a better bowler than him, so that thing I had in my mind and he will be really happy with my performance,” the dynamic opener concluded.
Abhishek Sharma’s batting at the opening position will be so vital for the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) if they look to get their second IPL trophy, since 2016.