Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) star Abhishek Sharma broke several records as he smashed a 55-ball 141 against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 match on Saturday. Abhishek put his barren run of form behind him to score one of the most memorable knocks in the T20 league’s history. Yet, the southpaw admitted that his father still isn’t satisfied with his performance. Courtesy of his 141, Abhishek became the Indian with the biggest individual total in IPL history. But, his father expects a few more things from his son.
Abhishek’s father and mother sat in the stands when the young batter set IPL on fire. In a chat after the game, the left-handed batter revealed that his father would not be satisfied until he finished the game for his team, remaining unbeaten till the end.
“It was very special. My father has been coming to watch my matches since my Under-14 days. If you zoomed in on him during my innings, you’d see him signalling to me, telling me which shots to play – ‘play this shot, play that shot’. He was my first coach. It’s very special to have done this in front of my mother and father,” Abhishek said.
“I think it’s my highest score in the IPL. My father keeps telling me to finish games, so he’s still not satisfied. There’s always room for improvement. I’ll keep working hard,” he added.
Abhishek’s father said that he is a happy man, having seen his son pull off an incredible knock against Punjab. The father-son duo also had a chat about the SRH star’s lean patch going into he game. Abhishek even had to rely on a bit of luck en route to a memorable century.
Parents together in the stands for the first time, backed by the ever-faithful #OrangeArmy
Abhishek Sharma | #PlayWithFire | #SRHvPBKS | #TATAIPL2025 pic.twitter.com/c3GotnJ5qj
— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) April 13, 2025
“I can’t express how happy I am,” he said. “I motivated him. I told him not to worry about the lean patch – it happens to every cricketer. He was a bit unlucky too. In the second match, he was run out. He played a few shots that didn’t quite clear the boundary. But now, he’s regained his confidence, and he won it for the team. In the coming days, he’ll do well, and so will SRH.”
“He was very confident. He told me in the morning that he was going to score and help SRH win,” he added.