Six century stands and counting: how Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma have transformed Sunrisers Hyderabad's IPL 2026
Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma walked out at Wankhede on Wednesday and put on 129 for the first wicket in 8.4 overs. Ninety-two of those came in the powerplay. By the time SRH closed out a chase of 244 with eight balls to spare, the two openers had matched David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan's IPL record of six century opening stands, the most by any pair in the competition's history.
It is not the only ledger they have rewritten this season.
A run that has reshaped the season
On April 11 they put 105 on the board in the powerplay alone against Punjab Kings at Mullanpur, Abhishek smashing 74 off 28. Two 100-plus opening partnerships in a single campaign is a level Warner and Dhawan, the pair Indian fans most associate with this kind of front-foot dominance, took years to build. Head and Abhishek have done it inside three weeks.
From 1-3 to a playoff push
The deeper effect on Sunrisers' season is the obvious bit. SRH started 1-3 and looked off the pace. Five wins in a row later, they are squarely in the top four and breathing down Punjab Kings' neck for first place. Almost every one of those wins has been set up by what the openers do in the first six overs.
The wider question for the tournament is whether anyone is built to shut this pair down. Wankhede was Mumbai's home ground, they had a half-fit Will Jacks back, and the difference was negligible. SRH's last stretch of the season will probably hinge on how often Head, who started slowly this campaign and has taken off, stays with Abhishek for an extra over of damage. On Wednesday it was eight overs and change. There is no reason it cannot be ten.
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