The Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) continued their winning momentum in the Indian Premier League (IPL) by beating the Delhi Capitals (DC) by 47 runs on April 21 in Hyderabad. The main talking point of the game was opener Abhishek Sharma’s IPL century, which took the Capitals by storm.
𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐏𝐔𝐋𝐈’𝐒 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐄 🔥🐅💯 pic.twitter.com/4sNDuX6TEw
— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) April 21, 2026
Sharma smashed 135* off 68 balls to boost SRH’s total to 242. In response, the Capitals could only score 195/9 in their allotted 20 overs. The knock helped the southpaw win the Man of the Match award and rise to the top of the Orange Cap leaderboard. Let’s take a look at a few achievements Abhishek Sharma unlocked during the game and how the change in his batting approach has helped him remain consistent.
Related Article：IPL 2026 SRH vs DC Highlights：Abhishek Sharma’s 135* Cooked Delhi
Contents
Records Achieved by Abhishek Sharma After a Blistering Century
Along with topping the Orange Cap leaderboard, Abhishek Sharma rewrote history once again with his sensational knock, comprising 10 fours and as many sixes. Sharma’s one-man show helped him fetch some records in the shortest format.
Abhishek Sharma goes level with Virat Kohli on 9 T20 centuries 🤝 pic.twitter.com/RmBMaf6oNE
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) April 21, 2026
Sharma now has the joint-most (9) hundreds by an Indian player in T20S. He has so far hit two centuries in IPL, two in T20Is and others in the domestic T20 competition. The skilful batter equalled the record set by Virat Kohli, who has hit eight tons in the IPL and a solitary one in T20Is.
Hyderabad has been very special for Abhishek Sharma🤩
Both of his IPL hundreds have come in front of the Orange Army🧡
📸: JioStar pic.twitter.com/mQpCHNdjr7
— CricTracker (@Cricketracker) April 21, 2026
Abhishek Sharma’s batting style also helped him become only the second batter to hit 10 or more sixes multiple times in the IPL. During his finest knock of 141 off 55 balls against the Punjab Kings in 2025, he hit 10 sixes as well.
Abhishek Sharma now has two of the top five IPL scores of all time 💪 pic.twitter.com/E0Cg7owC44
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) April 21, 2026
Sharma also recorded the fifth-highest individual score by a player in the tournament’s history. He was already third on the list with a 141-run knock. Chris Gayle holds the record for the highest knock of 175* off 66 balls for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru against the Pune Warriors in 2013. The SRH opener now also has registered the most (4) 130+ run knocks in T20 history. He went past Chris Gayle and Aaron Finch, who scored over 130 runs on three occasions.
Abhishek Sharma joins the elite at the top 🔥💯
Already level with the best in T20 centuries — and he’s just getting started 👀🚀#IPL2026 #Cricket #Sportskeeda pic.twitter.com/vd5nI108Zy
— Sportskeeda (@Sportskeeda) April 21, 2026
How Did Abhishek’s Batting Approach Help Him to Bat Through All 20 Overs?
Abhishek Sharma’s batting style during the game against the Capitals looked different from his usual self. The right-arm off-spinners proved to be the key nemesis for Sharma in the 2026 T20 World Cup.
𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭. 𝐇𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭. 🙌
Under the lights, Abhishek Sharma owned the stage & rewrote the record books! 🚀#TATAIPL #SRHvsDC [Abhishek Sharma, Sunrisers Hyderabad] pic.twitter.com/MnYqhNSA5d
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) April 21, 2026
Similarly, DC skipper Axar Patel brought in part-timer Nitish Rana to trouble Sharma’s momentum and secure a breakthrough in the powerplay overs. However, he was smart to rotate the strike and gain understanding of the surface before unleashing himself. The last ball of the second over, bowled by Rana, saw Sharma making full use of the short delivery and muscling the ball towards long-on for a four. The boundary helped him to gain confidence as he found the fences consistently in the next two overs.
𝙃𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙚. 𝙃𝙚 𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙙. 𝙃𝙚 𝙠𝙚𝙥𝙩 𝙤𝙣 𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜. 💥
Mr. Maximum goes full throttle to bring up a blazing 47-ball HUNDRED! 🚀#TATAIPL 2026 | #SRHvDC | LIVE NOW 👉 https://t.co/4WK6gbR70n pic.twitter.com/7Xx5F8hR13
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) April 21, 2026
Rana came again into the attack in the fifth over, and Abhishek Sharma used the depth of the crease to cream the fuller ball for a six towards the cover boundary. The next ball witnessed him pulling the shorter ball for another maximum towards the long-on region.
The Abhishek Sharma chapter in the #TATAIPL record books just got bigger ✍️📚
One word for his performance tonight? 🤩#KhelBindaas | #SRHvDC | @SunRisers | @OfficialAbhi04 pic.twitter.com/idQW5NQkwA
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 21, 2026
As it has always been seen, Sharma likes to use his feet and free his arms in the powerplay, which also puts him in trouble of getting caught. However, a composed version of him was seen in the game, as he waited for the right balls for a counter-punch. Sharma followed a similar tactic for the remaining part of the innings to carry his bat and remain unbeaten on 135 off 68 balls. Abhishek Sharma’s IPL century could have certainly helped him devise a mantra to play a big knock with calculated aggression.
What Did Abhishek Sharma Say About His Father in the Post-Match Presentation?
Abhishek Sharma’s IPL century was another terrific milestone in the presence of his parents in the stands. The cameras captured his father’s reaction, especially during his century celebration against the Capitals.
Pure joy in the stands as Kavya Maran and Abhishek’s parents celebrate a sensational century by Abhishek Sharma 💯🔥
A knock to remember, a moment to cherish 🧡👏#IPL2026 #AbhishekSharma #SRH #Cricket pic.twitter.com/5NhqZrmwnj
— Sportskeeda (@Sportskeeda) April 21, 2026
During the post-match presentation, Sharma was asked about whether he received feedback from his father about his game. The 25-year-old revealed that his father often gives him instructions from the stands when he is at the non-striker’s end, and both communicate through gestures. Here’s what Sharma said (via Cricbuzz):
“To be very honest, I don’t know how since U12 days, my dad’s been sitting next to the screen always, and in Hyderabad as well, he’s always sitting there. And whenever I’m just on the non-striker end, he always tells me how to play. So it’s still going on. And next time, just I want one of the cameras to just go to him and just see his reactions. It’s going to be really fun. And it’s actually incredible that how I always look at him and he’s always looking at me and giving me the instructions. So that also helps me a bit. And of course, it’s always special to perform in front of the parents and the friends as well.”
It will be interesting to see if Abhishek Sharma’s batting style can help him continue his dominance in the Orange Cap leaderboard and also propel SRH to the playoffs.
