Wasim Jaffer, a former opener for India, chastised Khaleel for his uncoordinated opening over, alleging that it helped Head and Abhishek.
On Saturday, April 20, the Delhi Capitals’ maiden visit to Arun Jaitley Stadium proved to be a memorable affair as they were crushed by Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Rishabh Pant chose to bowl first and watched as the opening pair of Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head, who are both left-handed, blasted Khaleel Ahmed, his premier bowler in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, for a mere 19 runs. The left-arm pacer gave the hitters an opportunity to unleash their arms by bowling short and wide rather than pitching up and looking for swing.
“The manner Khaleel began bowling short to him astonished us. The ball needed to be pitched up and given room to swing. Jaffer told ESPNcricinfo, “They just played in his hands, bowling short and giving him the start that he wanted.”
Lalit Yadav, an all-rounder who bowls off-spin, was brought into the attack in the second over but gave up 21 runs. In the first few overs, Sunrisers quickly reached 40 and didn’t look back.
Wasim Jaffer observed that the Hyderabad batters had a field day and that Lalit received no help off the deck.
“The pitch was so good that Lalit Yadav was hitting the ball straight from the lengths without any assistance.” They really got off to a really horrible start, and it didn’t end,” Jaffer continued.
With his co-fastest fifty for the SRH in IPL history, Travis Head helps the team rise to No. 2.
Following their raucous opening few overs, Head and Abhishek treated the Delhi bowlers with contempt and showed no signs of regret. After that, they amassed the greatest powerplay score in IPL history, scoring 125 runs in the first six overs. Before Head left for a 32-ball 89, Abhishek was removed for a 12-ball 46. In just 16 balls, the Australian batsman achieved the fastest fifty by an SRH batsman in IPL history. With an unbroken score of 59 off just 29 balls, Shahbaz Ahmed led Sunrisers to an intimidating 266/7 in their 20 overs.
In response, Sunrisers defeated Pant and Co. for 199 in 19.1 overs thanks to some tight bowling through the middle overs. Jake Fraser-McGurk shone once more with an 18-ball 65, while Abhishek Porel also smashed a fluent 22-ball 42.