Sunrisers Hyderabad pulls off fourth-highest IPL run chase ever
Rickelton’s unbeaten 123 powers team to 243
Unbeaten Rickelton 123 lifts team to 243
SRH’s Head-Klaasen Muscle Overpowers Rickelton’s Record 123 as Hyderabad Chase 244 in IPL Epic
Wankhede Stadium pulsed Wednesday, April 29, as Sunrisers Hyderabad pulled off a jaw-dropping six-wicket IPL heist, chasing Mumbai Indians’ mammoth 243/5 with 249/4 in 18.4 overs. Travis Head’s explosive 76 (30 balls, 8 sixes, 4 fours) and Heinrich Klaasen’s unbeaten 65 (30 balls, 7 fours, 4 sixes) outgunned Ryan Rickelton’s historic 123 not out—MI’s fastest IPL ton and highest individual score—clinching SRH’s fourth-biggest chase ever on a flat track where bowlers begged for mercy.
MI’s total? Their highest batting first, powered by Rickelton’s masterclass. The 29-year-old South African keeper-batter, partnering England’s Will Jacks (46 off 22), blazed 123 off 55 (10 fours, 8 sixes), gluing MI’s innings. Their 93-run opening stand in seven overs (78 in powerplay) set a scorching tone; skipper Hardik Pandya chipped 31 off 15. But SRH smelled blood.
Chasing 244, SRH openers Abhishek Sharma and Head turned it into a slaughterhouse—62/0 in four overs. Bumrah wicketless (0/54), Boult leaky (1/41, 18 in first), Jacks smashed for 19 debut over. MI’s fielding? A comedy of errors. Head, lifeline after lifeline: Dhir shelled three—first a skier bursting boundaries, second fingertip flick, third boundary-rope fumble for Head’s 20-ball fifty. Even a third-over edge off Boult, pouched unseen by Rickelton, went begging. Head-Abhishek’s 129 in 8.4 overs crushed MI’s 93 opener reply.
Head fell to a full toss at Jacks, but Klaasen ignited—16 off Ghazanfar (2/51), 18 off Ashwani (0/41) with three straight fours. Ishan Kishan chopped on (0); Salil Arora’s 10-ball 30 not out (3 sixes, 2 fours) sealed it. MI’s sixth loss in eight? Dropped catches killed them.
Rickelton’s knock was poetry—calculated carnage, no risks, pure conviction. Reviving MI’s slump, he notched his third ton, but SRH’s combined firepower won the bat-battle. Head’s early fireworks (six over mid-on off Bumrah’s slower), Klaasen’s brutal finish—pure muscle.
Post-match, Head grinned: “Those drops? Lifelines turned sixes.” Klaasen: “Flat track, but we cashed in.” Hardik rued: “Fielding let us down—can’t gift 244 chases.” SRH romped home with eight balls spare, Wankhede silenced.
This? IPL at its bonkers best—runs raining, nerves shredded. Rickelton’s record etched, but Head-Klaasen’s chase steals headlines.