Sunrisers made a blistering start but were overcome by Punjab in New Chandigarh
The much-vaunted ‘Travishek’ partnership fired again in the Indian Premier League last night but it was in a losing cause as Ricky Ponting’s Punjab Kings continued their strong start to the tournament.
Sunrisers Hyderabad openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma have rightly become one of world cricket’s most feared opening combinations and went to work at New Chandigarh on Saturday night.
The duo powered Hyderabad to 120 after only eight overs, with Abhishek (74 off 28) doing the bulk of the damage although Head’s innings (38 off 23) was hardly pedestrian. It was the fifth time a team has brought up their century inside the six-over Powerplay, with Head and Sharma responsible for three of them.
The Indian star cleared the rope eight times in his astonishing display of clean hitting, which included four in Vijaykumar Vyshak’s first over. He reached his fifty, off 18 balls, after 4.4 overs.
It’s the fifth century stand for ‘Travishek’ and first this season, almost a year to the day since their most recent hundred partnership which, coincidentally, was also against Punjab Kings.
The Kings fought back superbly after the left-handers’ blitz as off-spinner Shashank Singh dismissed both set batters in the space of three balls.
Xavier Bartlett showed his skills at the death, claiming the big wicket of Heinrich Klaasen in the final over as Punjab restricted Sunrisers to 219.
Although Cooper Connolly (11 off 12) missed out in the run chase, Priyansh Arya (57), Prabhsimran Singh (51) and captain Shreyas Iyer (69no) all made fast fifties to complete the chase with seven balls to spare.
It leaves Punjab, led by former Test captain Ponting, in second place, only behind the undefeated Rajasthan Royals. Sunrisers meanwhile, have one win from their first four games.
In Chennai, India’s T20 World Cup hero Sanju Samson crashed the first century of the 2026 IPL as the Super Kings disposed of Delhi Capitals by 23 runs.
Samson’s first three innings for his new side CSK left a lot to be desired with 6, 7 and 9 to his name but he corrected his record with a sparkling 115no.
Adelaide Strikers favourite Jamie Overton starred with the ball in the Capitals chase, taking 4-18 from his four overs.
IPL 2026 standings
Australians in IPL 2026
Chennai Super Kings: Matt Short ($255k), Spencer Johnson ($255k, replaces Nathan Ellis ($340k))
Delhi Capitals: Mitchell Starc ($2m)
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Josh Hazlewood ($2.13m), Tim David ($510k)
Punjab Kings: Marcus Stoinis ($1.9m), Ben Dwarshuis ($745k), Mitchell Owen ($510k), Cooper Connolly ($510k), Xavier Bartlett ($136k)
Kolkata Knight Riders: Cameron Green ($3.5m)
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Pat Cummins ($3.5m), Travis Head ($2.38m), Jack Edwards ($510k, withdrawn)
Lucknow Super Giants: Josh Inglis ($1.49m), Mitchell Marsh ($578k)
