Sports

Newcastle, April 14 (IANS) Newcastle United have confirmed that head coach Eddie Howe has been diagnosed with pneumonia, after being absent at Newcastle United for the past week, including the 4-1 win over Manchester United, after being hospitalized.

Assistant coaches Jason Tindall and Graeme Jones will continue leading the side in Howe’s absence for the games against Crystal Palace and Aston Villa.

“Newcastle United can announce that Eddie Howe is recovering in hospital after being diagnosed with pneumonia. The club continues to extend its best wishes and support to Eddie and his family as he continues his recovery.

“Jason Tindall and Graeme Jones will lead the team against Crystal Palace and Aston Villa this week, with further updates to be communicated in due course,” read the statement by the club.

Eddie Howe has become one of the most loved managers in the league after leading Newcastle United to the 2025 Carabao Cup title and the Toons remain in prime position for securing UEFA Champions League qualification spots in fourth position with just a one point gap to third placed Nottingham Forest.

The Englishman also relayed a message to the supporters, via the Newcastle United website, thanking them for their warm wishes.

"A huge thank you to everyone connected with Newcastle United and the wider football community for your messages and warm wishes. They have meant a lot to me and my family.

"I also want to pay tribute to our incredible NHS and the hospital staff who have treated me. I'm immensely grateful for the specialist care I'm receiving and, after a period of recovery, I look forward to being back as soon as possible."

A fantastic brace by Harvey Barnes and a goal each by midfielders Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes helped Newcastle extending their winning streak to five games against United at St James Park. Tindall reflected on Howe’s absence after the game.

"I received a message from him after the game, congratulating the team and the performance. He was able to watch it, and I’m sure that type of performance would’ve put a smile on his face. When the manager’s not here, you miss him. Eddie’s one of the best out there. He’s a great miss but hopefully we’ll get him back soon.

"Testament to the group of players we’ve got here. We’ve got a fantastic group of players, some really, really good leaders and characters. When the manager’s not there to lead the team, you need those players to step up, and they certainly did that today. Credit to them, because they delivered,” he said.

--IANS

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New Delhi, April 13 (IANS) One would have thought that Mumbai Indians had no business winning the match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday, when Delhi Capitals were at 113/1 at the half-way mark.

But with Karn Sharma (3-36) and Mitchell Santner (2-36) taking five wickets each and ground fielding being excellent, MI managed to complete a stunning come-from-behind win to win by 12 runs, which is just their second victory of this season and halt DC’s winning juggernaut.

After Tilak Varma’s 59, his second fifty of the season, headlined MI’s massive 205/5, Karun Nair, playing his first IPL game of the season, played a breathtaking 89 as DC’s impact player and clinching a win looked like a cakewalk for DC. But losing five wickets in six overs, including of Karun, after the tenth over, got MI back in the match.

Despite Ashutosh Sharma and Vipraj Nigam threatening to pull off another heist for DC, their sub-par batting and MI’s excellent fielding plus bowling, along with ball changed after the 13th over, ensured the hosts’ were all out for 193 in 19 overs.

DC lost Jake Fraser-McGurk on the first ball of chasing 206 when he chipped to cover off Deepak Chahar. Karun took on Trent Boult by hitting three delightful fours – a cover drive was followed by a crunchy cut shot and another glorious drive. MI’s move to bring in Jasprit Bumrah didn’t give the desired control as Karun lofted him over cover for four, before slashing him between cover and point for another boundary.

After Karun slashed Chahar to bring up DC’s fifty in just fifth over, Bumrah was again taken to the cleaners as the batter whipped and lofted inside-out with sumptuous ease before a brace got him his fifty in 22 balls. Karun’s fireworks continued as he moved across to scoop Hardik Pandya for six, before sweeping Karn for another maximum.

Hardik came under thrashing again as Karun slashed and heaved him for four and six respectively. But just after that, MI’s fightback began. Abishek Porel slog-swept to running deep square leg off Karn. Though Karun marched forward with boundaries coming off reverse-lap, sweep and bisecting long-on and deep mid-wicket to perfection, Mitchel Santner got one to turn past his outside edge and castled him for 89.

Sensing an opening, MI brought back Bumrah and he dismissed Axar Patel cheaply. MI then reaped immediate reward of a ball change, as Tristan Stubbs holed out to long-on off Karn, while KL Rahul’s top-edge on a sweep was easily caught by the leg-spinner off his own bowling.

With 42 runs needed off 24 balls, Boult nailed five yorkers to give away only three runs in the 17th over. After Santner was handed the 18th over, Nigam targeted him by dancing down the pitch to hit him for six, and was followed by the all-rounder earning a four via a well-placed cut.

But Santner had the last laugh by having Nigam stumped for 14. Ashutosh kept hope alive for a thrilling finish by reverse-scooping and edging Bumrah for consecutive fours, before he, Kuldeep Yadav and Mohit Sharma were chaotically run-out on successive balls to give MI a memorable win.

Previously, all of MI’s batters barring captain Hardik Pandya had started, but only Varma marched forward to make 59 off 33 balls, with 22 of his runs coming through the mid-wicket region. He was also supported by Naman Dhir making 38 not out at the fag end. For DC, barring Kuldeep Yadav and Vipraj Nigam, all of their bowlers were expensive.

Ryan Rickleton began well by flicking and driving to collect fours, while swivelling for a mighty six over mid-wicket. Rohit Sharma got into groove and picked a six off a top-edge on scoop - a neat square drive was followed by a top-notch lofted drive, as 19 runs came off third over.

DC struck when Rohit missed a length ball while trying to slog sweep Nigam and was trapped lbw on review. Giving Mukesh his third power-play over didn’t pay off for DC as Rickleton pulled him for four, while Suryakumar Yadav brought out his trademark flick going for six, as MI ended power-play at 59/1.

But Rickleton couldn’t convert his great start into a big score as Kuldeep Yadav’s googly flattened his middle stump. With Tilak getting boundaries off pull, reverse sweep, lofted punch down the ground and even off top-edges, Suryakumar put out a masterclass in sweeping for fours off Kuldeep, Axar and Nigam, while flicking Mohit Sharma once for a boundary.

But DC struck in consecutive overs to slow down MI’s charge - Suryakumar holed out to long-off on a googly from Kuldeep, while Pandya was dismissed in the same fashion by Nigam. Varma, though, led MI’s fightback by lofting and flicking Nigam and Kuldeep for boundaries, before bringing up his fifty in 26 balls.

With Naman Dhir and Tilak hooking Mohit for a four reach, including the latter surviving an lbw appeal off him, MI were primed to reach the 200-mark. That increased further when Dhir swivelled and whipped Starc for consecutive fours, before Tilak sliced over third man for third boundary of the 18th over.

Tilak earned another reprieve on 54 when Mukesh and Ashutosh Sharma collided chest-on while taking his catch at backward point, while Axar missed a chance to inflict his run out. Though Tilak swept straight to deep mid-wicket off Mukesh, MI had crossed 200-mark by then, which was sufficient to get a much-needed win.

Brief Scores: Mumbai Indians 205/5 in 20 overs (Tilak Varma 59, Ryan Rickleton 41; Kuldeep Yadav 2-23, Vipraj Nigam 2-41) beat Delhi Capitals 193 all out in 19 overs (Karun Nair 89, Abishek Porel 33; Karn Sharma 3-36, Mitchell Santner 2-43) by 12 runs

--IANS

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New Delhi, April 13 (IANS) Impact player Karn Sharma and Mitchell Santner took five wickets collectively as a superb bowling performance saw Mumbai Indians beat Delhi Capitals by 12 runs and register a superb come-from-behind victory to get their second win of IPL 2025 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday.

Karun Nair, playing his first IPL game of the season, played a breathtaking 89 as DC’s impact player and clinching a win looked like a cakewalk for DC. But losing five wickets in six overs, including of Karun, after the tenth over got MI back in the match.

Despite Ashutosh Sharma and Vipraj Nigam threatening to pull off another heist for DC, their sub-par batting and MI’s excellent fielding plus bowling, along with ball change after the 13th over, ensured the hosts’ were all out for 193 in 19 overs. It also meant that DC’s winning juggernaut has been brought to a halt on return to their home turf.

Chasing 206, DC lost Jake Fraser-McGurk on the first ball when he chipped to cover off Deepak Chahar. After Abishek Porel opened his account with a cracking cover drive off Chahar for four, Karun took on Trent Boult by hitting three delightful fours – a cover drive was followed by a crunchy cut shot and another glorious drive.

MI’s move to bring in Jasprit Bumrah didn’t give the desired control as Karun lofted him over cover for four, before slashing him between cover and point for another boundary. After Karun slashed Chahar to bring up DC’s fifty in just fifth over, Bumrah was again taken to the cleaners as the batter whipped and lofted inside-out with sumptuous ease before a brace got him his fifty in 22 balls.

Karun’s fireworks continued as he moved across to scoop Hardik Pandya for six, before sweeping Karn Sharma for another maximum. Hardik came under thrashing again as Karun slashed and heaved him for four and six respectively. But just after that, MI’s fightback began.

Abishek Porel slog-swept to running deep square leg off Karn. Though Karun marched forward with boundaries coming off reverse-lap, sweep and bisecting long-on and deep mid-wicket to perfection, Mitchel Santner got one to turn past his outside edge and castled him for 89.

Sensing an opening, MI brought back Bumrah and he dismissed Axar Patel cheaply. MI then reaped immediate reward of a ball change, as Tristan Stubbs holed out to long-on off Karn, while KL Rahul’s top-edge on a sweep was easily caught by the leg-spinner off his own bowling.

With 42 runs needed off 24 balls, Boult nailed five yorkers to give away only three runs in the 17th over. After Santner was handed the 18th over, Vipraj Nigam targeted him by dancing down the pitch to hit him for six, and was followed by the all-rounder earning a four via a well-placed cut. But the spinner had the last laugh by having Nigam stumped for 14.

With 23 runs needed off the last two overs, Ashutosh Sharma reverse-scooped and edged off Bumrah to collect consecutive fours, before he, Kuldeep Yadav and Mohit Sharma were run-out on successive balls to give MI a memorable win.

Brief Scores: Mumbai Indians 205/5 in 20 overs (Tilak Varma 59, Ryan Rickleton 41; Kuldeep Yadav 2-23, Vipraj Nigam 2-41) beat Delhi Capitals 193 all out in 19 overs (Karun Nair 89, Abishek Porel 33; Karn Sharma 3-36, Mitchell Santner 2-43) by 12 runs

--IANS

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Newcastle, April 13 (IANS) Harvey Barnes struck twice in the second half as Newcastle United extended their winning streak to five with a commanding 4-1 win over Manchester United at St. James’ Park on Sunday.

Led by assistants Jason Tindall and Graeme Jones in the absence of Eddie Howe—who was hospitalised on Friday—the Magpies started brightly and dominated from the outset. Sandro Tonali gave the hosts a deserved lead with a superb volley after Alexander Isak’s delicate lofted assist. Despite their dominance, Newcastle were pegged back late in the first half which started when Manuel Ugarte won the ball well in midfield and invited Diogo Dalot to charge forward. The right wing-back timed the release of his pass to Garnacho well, and the Argentina international slotted past Pope and into the far corner of the net.

But the second half belonged entirely to Newcastle. Just three minutes after the restart, Tino Livramento’s deep cross was kept alive by Jacob Murphy, whose sharp cutback was finished with precision by Barnes for his first. Barnes then added his second on 64 minutes when Noussair Mazraoui slipped over in possession but Barnes didn't hesitate, picking up the ball and shifting through the gears. His run took him right through the middle of the Manchester United centre halves and his attempt rocketed into the top right-hand corner

Newcastle never let up. Manchester United, managed by Ruben Amorim, offered little in response after falling behind. The final blow came in the closing stages when Altay Bayındır’s misplaced pass was seized upon by Joelinton, who teed up Bruno Guimarães to slot home Newcastle’s fourth.

Despite an initial equaliser, United were outplayed and outfought. They now sit 14th in the Premier League table, while Newcastle’s fifth straight win propels them into the top four, intensifying their Champions League push.

--IANS

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Bahrain, April 13 (IANS) Oscar Piastri has won his second race of the 2025 Formula 1 season, and cut the gap in the Drivers Championship down to three points behind teammate Lando Norris, after delivering a commanding performance to win the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The 24-year-old Australian not only celebrated victory in his 50th career Grand Prix but also secured McLaren’s first-ever triumph at the circuit, continuing his strong start to the season.

Starting from pole position, Piastri held off an aggressive move from George Russell, who locked up into Turn 1, but managed to keep the lead. From there, Piastri demonstrated calm control and consistent pace, gradually pulling away from the pack. Even when a mid-race Safety Car bunched the field back together, the McLaren driver didn’t falter, making a clean restart and rebuilding his lead with clinical precision. He eventually crossed the line with a dominant 15.5-second gap over Russell.

While Piastri led from the front, his teammate Lando Norris had a more dramatic evening. After receiving a five-second penalty for being out of position on the grid, Norris mounted a strong recovery drive. The Briton overtook Charles Leclerc in the closing stages and chased down Russell, finishing just 0.774s behind the Mercedes driver to claim third.

Leclerc settled for fourth after a late-race scrap with Norris, ahead of Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton in fifth. Max Verstappen had a frustrating evening, experiencing delays in both pit stops before rallying to steal sixth place late in the race.

Alpine enjoyed their best result of the season so far, with Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon finishing seventh and eighth, respectively. Yuki Tsunoda claimed ninth for Red Bull, while Ollie Bearman added a valuable point for Haas in tenth.

Elsewhere, Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli narrowly missed the points in P11, while Fernando Alonso endured a difficult race, finishing 16th. Carlos Sainz was the only retirement after contact with Tsunoda damaged his Williams.

With this win, Piastri solidifies his status as a true championship contender and gave McLaren significant momentum heading into the next round.

--IANS

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Vitoria-Gasteiz, April 13 (IANS) Real Madrid secured a hard-fought 1-0 win over Alaves at Mendizorroza to claim three crucial points in La Liga, thanks to a first-half strike from Eduardo Camavinga. Carlo Ancelotti’s side played over half an hour with ten men after Kylian Mbappe was shown a red card, but held firm to see out the victory.

Los Blancos started the match strongly and nearly took the lead inside ten minutes. Antonio Rudiger delivered a superb long ball to Arda Guler, who found himself one-on-one with Owono. The young Turkish forward couldn't convert, and despite contact from the goalkeeper, the referee waved away penalty appeals.

Madrid thought they had gone ahead in the 18th minute when Asensio scored from a corner, but the goal was controversially ruled out after VAR spotted a foul by Rudiger on the Alaves keeper during the build-up.

The breakthrough finally arrived in the 31st minute. Fede Valverde combined neatly with Camavinga at the edge of the box, and the French midfielder slotted the ball past Owono to make it 1-0. Alaves responded with a near miss from Carlos Vicente, whose effort went just wide.

Drama struck in the 38th minute when Mbappé, initially booked for a late challenge on Blanco, saw his yellow card upgraded to a red after a VAR review, leaving Madrid with ten men.

Despite the numerical disadvantage, Madrid defended resolutely in the second half. The situation leveled out in the 70th minute when Alaves’ Manu Sánchez was sent off for a last-man foul on Vinícius Jr. following another VAR review.

Madrid had chances to extend their lead late on. Valverde fired a powerful shot just wide, and Jude Bellingham was denied in a one-on-one by Owono in the 89th minute. Dani Ceballos made a brief return from injury during stoppage time as Madrid closed out the match.

--IANS

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Auburndale (USA), April 13 (IANS) A few days after compound archery was included in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, the Indian team of Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Rishabh Yadav claimed the gold medal in the Compound Mixed Team event in the 2025 Archery World Cup Stage 1 in Florida, USA, on Saturday. This was the first compound mixed team medal match of the 2025 Archery World Cup.

The Indian team got the better of the Chinese Taipei pair of Huang I-Jou and Chen Chien-lun 153-151 in a hard-fought gold medal match on Saturday morning.

The Indian pair of former World Cup winner Jyothi Surekha and Rishabh came back after losing the first End, which includes each archer shooting two arrows (four in all in case of mixed doubles), 37-38 as they managed two scores of 9 and two 10s. Their rivals shot two nines and arrows in the inner 10 circle (X).

The Indians lost the second End 38-39 and were trailing 75-77 overall, despite scoring three 10s as an 8 pulled them down. The Chinese Taipei pair shot X,10,10, X to win the End.

In the third End, the Indian pair of Jyothi and Rishabh got the better of the Chinese Taipei pair 39-38 to close the gap to 113-115. The Indians went from strength to strength in the fourth and final End, with scores of 9,10,10, X while the Chinese Taipei pair faltered and could manage scores of 9, 9, 8, X. The Indians won the End 39-36 to win the gold medal match 153-151 and cemented their dominance in this discipline.

Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Rishabh Yadav were exceptionally precise in the semifinal, too. The Indian pair shot 156 against Spain and Denmark, whose line-up included Indoor World Series Champion Tanja Gellenthien and world number two Mathias Fullerton – and then posted an incredible 159 in the semifinal against Slovenia, just one off a perfect score.

For Yadav, Saturday’s final marks a major milestone: he has yet to win an Archery World Cup medal, as he and powerhouse India build toward LA28.

--IANS

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Bahrain, April 12 (IANS) McLaren’s Oscar Piastri delivered a blistering lap to claim pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix, edging out Mercedes’ George Russell and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in a tight and dramatic Qualifying 3 finale under the lights at the Bahrain International Circuit.

Piastri’s pole-clinching time of 1m 29.841s showcased his growing maturity and raw pace, as he outshone teammate and title contender Lando Norris, who could only manage sixth. The Australian had looked quick throughout the session but turned it up a notch in the dying stages, holding off a strong charge from Russell, who finished just a couple of tenths shy of the top spot.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc continued his consistent run in Qualifying with a solid third, just 0.150s adrift of the front, while Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli impressed again with a strong fourth-place effort. However, both Mercedes drivers are under post-session investigation for potential technical infringements, which could yet alter the starting order.

Pierre Gasly put in arguably his best lap of the season to snatch fifth for Alpine, capitalizing on a scruffy final run by Norris. Championship leader Norris, who had been dominant in practice, struggled to put together a clean lap in Q3 and will start on the third row alongside Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who himself was hampered by persistent brake issues and never looked fully at ease.

Carlos Sainz, driving for Williams after a mid-season switch, delivered his best Qualifying performance of the season with eighth, narrowly ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who had a lap deleted for exceeding track limits. Yuki Tsunoda, in the second Red Bull, rounded out the top ten.

Rising Alpine star Jack Doohan impressed again, showing strong pace in Q1 but just missing out on Q3 in 11th, ahead of Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar and the experienced Fernando Alonso, who couldn’t extract more from his Aston Martin.

The drama unfolded in Q2 when Esteban Ocon lost control of his Haas exiting Turn 2 and crashing heavily, triggering red flags and ending his session prematurely. He will start 14th, with Nico Hulkenberg in 15th after his lap time was reinstated post-session, knocking Alex Albon out of Q2 contention. Albon, who has been a consistent points scorer in 2025, was visibly frustrated after being outpaced by teammate Sainz for the first time this season.

Liam Lawson was left ruing DRS issues that saw him end up 17th in his Racing Bulls car, ahead of Kick Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll. At the back of the grid, Haas rookie Ollie Bearman suffered a tough outing after a promising run in Japan last weekend. A compromised Q1 lap with multiple errors left him languishing in 20th, rounding off a forgettable session for the young Briton.

--IANS

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Kolkata, April 12 (IANS) Jamie Maclaren scored an extra-time winner as Mohun Bagan Super Giant (MBSG) won the Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 Cup after a 2-1 victory against Bengaluru FC at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan Stadium here on Saturday.

MBSG came from behind after trailing by a goal to successfully cap off the League Double, having already clinched the ISL Shield this season, and have concluded the current campaign unbeaten at their home. They are just the second team after Mumbai City FC (2020-21) to win the League Shield and the ISL Cup in the same season.

MBSG banked on the crowd support to make a defining start to the game, with Maclaren coming close with a right-footed shot from the same side of the box, which was saved in the bottom left corner by Gurpreet Singh Sandhu in the ninth minute.

They kept functioning dynamically in tandem, as Anirudh Thapa, usually pulling the strings at the centre, made an inroad into the 18-yard area and hastened towards a right-footed shot from the left side of the box that was blocked in time.

The Blues responded with a flurry of opportunities around the 20th-minute mark, with Alberto Noguera stretching the MBSG defence wide and delivering a cross for Sunil Chhetri that the forward couldn’t capitalise upon. A subsequent headed effort from Edgar Mendez was saved at the centre of the goal by Vishal Kaith to keep the score level.

Bengaluru FC bagged the breakthrough in the 49th minute, courtesy of an own goal by defender Alberto Rodriguez. Williams was afforded ample space on the right flank, and he optimised it with a whipping cross directed for Mendez inside the box.

Subhasish Bose, who was marking Williams, could not close down his target. Rodriguez attempted to clear the ball but ended up hammering it into the back of the net under pressure.

Seven minutes later, Bose tried to make up for the previous endeavour by recovering possession near the halfway mark and hurling a delivery that met Jason Cummings just outside the penalty area. The striker did well to control the ball and unleashed a left-footed effort that required a fully stretched dive from Sandhu to stop the scores from equalising.

However, MBSG earned a reprieve in the form of a penalty due to a handball by Chinglensana Singh. In the 72nd minute, Cummings stepped up for spot-kick duties and effortlessly converted the opportunity by caressing the ball into the bottom left corner with his left foot to bring the contest back on level terms.

As the game entered the added time, Kaith sent in a long ball that Ashique Kuruniyan tried to hit home, albeit from a difficult angle on the left, but to no avail. Greg Stewart’s lateral ball for Tom Aldred was headed from the left side of the six-yard box by the defender, but it missed the target to the right.

The match entered extra time, and it did not take Maclaren too long to finally carve an impact in the grand finale. With MBSG exerting numbers ahead, the Bengaluru FC defence consequently slipped into a spot of bother and Maclaren’s incisive instinct tapped upon that with a fierce effort from inside the box as soon as he gained possession to unsettle Sandhu and hit the centre of the net in the 96th minute, sealing a memorable campaign for the Kolkata-based club.

--IANS

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Hyderabad, April 12 (IANS) In a match that will long be etched in the annals of the Indian Premier League (IPL) history, Sunrisers Hyderabad pulled off the second-highest successful run chase in the league's history, chasing down a mammoth 246 against Punjab Kings with eight wickets in hand, at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here on Saturday.

The architects of this record-shattering win were the explosive Abhishek Sharma, who slammed a career-best 141 off 55 balls, and the ever-dependable Travis Head, whose calculated aggression complemented the fire and flair at the other end. The encounter between SRH and PBKS had promised fireworks, but few could have predicted the sheer scale of the pyrotechnics that would follow.

After being sent in to bat, Punjab Kings posted an imposing 245/6, powered by Shreyas Iyer’s commanding 82 and a blistering finish from Marcus Stoinis, who thumped four consecutive sixes in the final over to end unbeaten on 34 off just 11 balls. The pitch had regained its batting-friendly character after a brief flirtation with turn during the previous game against the Gujarat Titans. And it was evident from the very first over of the second innings that this was not a surface where bowlers would have their say.

The SRH opening pair of Abhishek and Head charged out with intent, though Prabhsimran Singh’s early boundaries in the first innings set the tone for an evening of brutality with the bat. But what followed in SRH’s chase was nothing short of remarkable.

Abhishek, who hadn’t hit a six in the tournament before this match, opened his account in stunning fashion. Facing Marco Jansen, he launched into three successive boundaries and followed it up with an effortless six off Yash Thakur — a shot that was soon accompanied by a stroke of fortune as he was caught off a no-ball and then dispatched the free hit into the stands. The aggression was unrelenting.

Head, meanwhile, played the role of the ice to Abhishek’s fire. While Abhishek flicked, pulled, and whipped deliveries over the ropes with nonchalance, Head anchored from the other end, picking gaps, rotating the strike, and occasionally punishing the errant deliveries. The duo brought up their 100 partnership before the halfway mark, and by the time Head departed for a fluent 66, the match had already tilted heavily in Hyderabad’s favour.

Abhishek’s hundred was not only his first in IPL but also came in just 40 deliveries, the fifth-fastest in the tournament's history. As he raised his bat and pulled out a folded piece of white paper from his pocket — bearing the message “This one is for the Orange Army” — the stadium erupted. It was the kind of innings that doesn’t just win matches but galvanizes entire seasons.

Earlier in the day, PBKS had themselves delivered a batting masterclass. Shreyas Iyer’s 82 off 36 was the backbone of their innings, stitched together with ferocious intent and deft touches. Nehal Wadhera played a crucial supporting role, while Stoinis’s explosive finish pushed them to a total that, in most contexts, would have been more than enough.

Harshal Patel was the only SRH bowler to walk away with respectable figures, his 4 for 42 a rare highlight in an otherwise forgettable bowling performance.

But SRH’s reply made Punjab’s fireworks seem like warm-up drills. It was not just a chase — it was a statement. A team that had endured four straight losses stepped onto the field with belief and walked off having rewritten the record books.

Abhishek Sharma’s innings will go down as one of the finest played by an Indian batter in the IPL. His knock surpassed KL Rahul’s 132 to become the highest individual score by an Indian in the tournament’s history. It also lifted Sunrisers from the depths of inconsistency and injected belief into a squad that had been desperate for a spark.

Brief scores:

Punjab Kings 245/6 in 20 overs (Shreyas Iyer 82, Prabhsimran Sing 42, Marcus Stoinis 34 not out; Harshal Patel 4-42, Eshan Malinga 2-45) lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad 247/2 in 18.3 overs (Abhishek Sharma 141, Travis Head 66; Arshdeep Singh 1-37, Yuzvendra Chahal 1-56) by eight wickets.

--IANS

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