Abhishek Sharma smashes fifth highest IPL score in 2026

India opener Abhishek Sharma scored the fifth-highest IPL total of 135 not out against Delhi Capitals.

Record-breaking innings Sunrisers Hyderabad posted a massive 242 for two wickets in twenty overs, with opener Abhishek Sharma remaining unbeaten on 135 off just 68 deliveries. The left-handed batter, ranked number one in the world Twenty20 batting charts, anchored the innings while striking ten sixes and ten fours. He achieved his century in forty-seven balls, marking the fifth-best individual score in Indian Premier League history. His unbeaten 135 is now the fifth-highest IPL score ever recorded. ## Previous top five scores Only four IPL scores surpass Abhishek’s effort: Chris Gayle’s unbeaten 175, Brendon McCullum’s 158 not out, Abhishek’s own 141 on the same ground in 2025, and Quinton de Kock’s 140 against Kolkata Knight Riders in 2022. His latest score also represents his ninth Twenty20 century, tying him for fourth on the all-time list in the format. ## T20 World Cup return Following three consecutive ducks to start the recent Twenty20 World Cup campaign, Abhishek rebounded with a crucial fifty-two runs as India claimed victory in the final over New Zealand. The opener has now struck two international T20 centuries alongside two IPL hundreds, continuing his dominance in the shortest format. Three of his nine T20 centuries have been scored at Sunrisers’ home ground in Hyderabad, a venue that has witnessed two of the four highest IPL totals. ## Supporting contributions Abhishek put together a ninety-seven-run partnership in eight-point-five overs with Travis Head, a seventy-nine-run stand in thirty-five balls with Ishan Kishan, and an unbeaten sixty-six-run last-wicket alliance in thirty-two deliveries with Heinrich Klaasen. Klaasen finished with thirty-seven not out from thirteen balls, including three sixes, while Head contributed thirty-seven and Kishan added twenty-five runs.