Head bludgeons Sunrisers to lightning quick IPL win

Travis Head has surpassed even his own remarkable brilliance in the 2024 edition of the IPL, blasting a match-winning knock which proved the perfect birthday gift for his captain Pat Cummins.

The Australian left-hander, who's taking daredevil opening to new heights in this year's IPL slugfest, smashed an "unreal" 89 not out off just 30 balls, with eight sixes and eight fours, to help bludgeon Sunrisers Hyderabad to a lightning-quick win on Cummins' 31st birthday.

With his young Indian teammate Abhishek Sharma teeing off just as manically at the other end, with 75no off 28 balls, the pair's astonishing fireworks ensured Sunrisers chased down Lucknow Super Giants' 4-165 before the halfway mark of their innings.

They put together an unbeaten 167-run opening partnership off just 9.4 overs in Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium to see off a reasonably challenging target on Wednesday with an astounding 62 balls still remaining.

Amid all the carnage, KL Rahul, the Lucknow captain, was left marvelling: "I'm lost for words. We've watched that batting on TV – but that was unreal. Everything was hitting the middle of the bat, kudos to their skill."

It would have been extraordinary if the IPL hadn't witnessed this sort of opening platform from the pair so often already this season, with captain Cummins saying of Head's performance: "It certainly doesn't surprise me anymore.

"He's been like this for the last few years. He might not be super-conventional but he's got a great eye, hits the middle of the bat a lot and he's having a wonderful tournament."

Looking in the sort of form that will have all Australia's T20 World Cup opponents concerned, Head cracked 22 off Krishnappa Gowtham's second over, and then pulverised the fifth over of the innings, bowled by Naveen-ul-Haq, for another 24, to race past his half-century in just 16 balls, finishing his innings with an incredible strike rate of 296.

He went past 500 runs for the IPL season, moving on to 533 runs at an average of 53.30 and a strike-rate of 201.89.

"The last 12 months being back in the Australian team, that's how they've wanted me to play and I'm not trying to change anything, just trying to maximise that Powerplay," Head said post-match. 

"It's not going to work all the time but I'm going to try to be as consistent as I can, give myself the best opportunity and hopefully do my part for the team."

Head's daring has helped the 20-over game explore new limits this IPL season. Incredibly, he and 23-year-old Abhishek plundered 107 in just the six-over Powerplay alone.

"It's difficult coming up with answers when the batters are running so hot. It seems like it's happening more and more often, unfortunately," said Cummins, who'd earlier taken the key wicket of Rahul in his 1-47 and also ran out Krunal Pandya brilliantly with a direct hit.

But these astonishing 'Head starts' are putting his Sunrisers in a good position to make the playoffs, with Hyderabad now third in the table on 14 points and with their net run-rate having been seriously boosted.

For the Justin Langer-coached Lucknow, though, for whom Marcus Stoinis fell early for three, it was a big setback as they now lie sixth.

IPL 2024 standings

Team	Matches played M	Wins W	Losses L	Ties T	No results N/R	Net Run Rate NRR	Deductions Ded.	Total points PTS
1 Kolkata Knight Riders KKR	14	9	3	0	2	1.428	0	20
2 Sunrisers Hyderabad SUN	14	8	5	0	1	0.414	0	17
3 Rajasthan Royals RAJ	14	8	5	0	1	0.273	0	17
4 Royal Challengers Bengaluru Men RCB	14	7	7	0	0	0.459	0	14
5 Chennai Super Kings CSK	14	7	7	0	0	0.392	0	14
6 Delhi Capitals Men DEL	14	7	7	0	0	-0.377	0	14
7 Lucknow Super Giants LSG	14	7	7	0	0	-0.667	0	14
8 Gujarat Titans GUT	14	5	7	0	2	-1.063	0	12
9 Punjab Kings KXI	14	5	9	0	0	-0.353	0	10
10 Mumbai Indians MI	14	4	10	0	0	-0.318	0	8

Legend

M: Matches played

W: Wins

L: Losses

T: Ties

N/R: No results

NRR: Net Run Rate

Ded.: Deductions

PTS: Total points

Australians in IPL 2024

Delhi Capitals: Mitch Marsh (A$1.2m), David Warner (A$1.16m), Jhye Richardson (A$890,000), Jake Fraser-McGurk (A$92,000)

Gujarat Titans: Spencer Johnson (A$1.78m), Matthew Wade (A$446,000)

Kolkata Knight Riders: Mitchell Starc (A$4.43m)

Lucknow Super Giants: Marcus Stoinis (A$1.7m), Ashton Turner (A$178,000)

Mumbai Indians: Tim David (A$1.53m)

Punjab Kings: Nathan Ellis (A$135,000)

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Cameron Green (A$3.15m), Glenn Maxwell (A$2m)

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Pat Cummins (A$3.67m), Travis Head (A$1.2m)

*Prices in AUD, conversions correct at time of auction