VHT: Abhishek Sharma misses out on his second successive hundred
What's the story
Punjab opener Abhishek Sharma missed out his second successive hundred in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25. The southpaw was dismissed just seven runs short of a century in the round of 6 match against Hyderabad at the iconic Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. He was batting on 93 when he got out. Here we look at his stats in the List A format.
Knock
Punjab posted a massive total against Hyderabad
Opener Prabhsimran Singh spearheaded Punjab's assault against Hyderabad with a blistering 137. The right-handed batter hit 20 fours and three sixes, contributing to a 196-run opening partnership with Abhishek. Ramandeep Singh (80) also played a fine knock as Punjab finished at 426/4. With this, Punjab became the first team to score 400-plus runs on multiple occasions in a single VHT edition.
Stellar form
Abhishek's impressive performance in Vijay Hazare Trophy
Abhishek has been in phenomenal touch in the ongoing 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy. His innings against Hyderabad comprised of seven fours and six sixes. In his preceding outing, he had scored 170 against Saurashtra and looked set for another one against Hyderabad before Tanay Thyagarajan dismissed him. However, despite the setback, Abhishek's overall performance in the tournament is commendable with a century and two fifties to his name.
Stats
2,000 List A runs loading for Abhishek
Abhishek, who made 93 off 72 balls, slammed seven fours and six maximums during his stay. Like Prabhsimran, the southpaw could also have slammed his fifth List A ton but he missed out. This turned out to be his seventh fifty. As per ESPNcricinfo, Abhishek has now raced to 1,944 List A runs at an average of 34-plus. 397 of his runs have come in the ongoing VHT season at 63-plus.
IPL outlook
Abhishek's IPL journey and SRH's expectations
Meanwhile, Abhishek's will continue to represent Sunrisers Hyderabad in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, having been retained by the franchise for ₹14 crore. He has played 63 matches in the IPL till now, scoring 1,377 runs at a strike rate of 155.24 and an average of 25.50. His batting record features seven half-centuries, 128 fours, and 73 sixes.