Sunrisers Hyderabad bounced back from a poor start to defeat Punjab Kings by eight wickets courtesy of a breathtaking maiden Indian Premier League century from Abhishek Sharma.

Abhishek smashed 141 runs from just 55 balls at a mouth-watering strike-rate of 256.36. His knock included 14 fours and 10 sixes.

Punjab captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to bat first, with some relay-style hitting powering the visitors to a mammoth score of 245-6 from their 20 overs.

Priyansh Arya followed up his ton in the last game with an early blitz, plundering 36 from 13 deliveries, while Prabhsimran Singh struck 42.

Iyer (82 off 36) led the Kings through the middle, while Marcus Stoinis (34 not out) provided a fantastic flourish at the back end to set an almighty total for SRH to chase.

Harshal Patel managed to snag a four-wicket haul, ending with figures of 4-42 from his four overs, though Sunrisers were looking at a daunting prospect.

But, as Punjab would soon find out, no total is safe with Travis Head and Abhishek.

The Sunrisers' openers plundered 83 runs in the powerplay, with the Kings' bowlers dispatched all around the ground.

Abhishek started the onslaught, taking Marco Jansen for 19 runs in his first over before smashing Yash Thakur for 20 an over later.

Head provided ample support and needed just 37 balls to reach 66 before he was caught on the boundary in the 13th over, with SRH on a whopping 171 by that stage.

Yet Abhishek did not let up, reaching his century in just 40 deliveries soon after. 

When Abhishek finally succumbed, spooning one to midwicket from Arshdeep Singh (who at 1-37 was the pick of Punjab's bowlers), Heinrich Klaasen (21) got the Sunrisers over the line with nine balls to spare, as Hyderabad snapped a four-game losing streak to move up to eighth.

A knock to remember, a night to own

Abhishek Sharma is undoubtedly the Player of the Match in #SRHvPBKS for his record-shattering performance 

Scorecard  https://t.co/RTe7RlXDRq#TATAIPL | @IamAbhiSharma4 pic.twitter.com/BQzQnYTMoa

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 12, 2025

Data debrief: Abhishek breaks IPL records with colossal ton

Abhishek's 141 is the highest-ever score by an Indian batter in the IPL, surpassing KL Rahul's 132 against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2020.

The 24-year-old now owns the third-highest individual score in IPL history, behind Brendon McCullum's unbeaten 158 in 2008 and Chris Gayle's 175 not out in 2013.

His innings powered Sunrisers to the second-highest successful chase in IPL history.

The current record for highest successful chase is, coincidentally, held by the Kings, who chased down 262 last season against the Kolkata Knight Riders, courtesy of a fantastic century from Jonny Bairstow.