Travis Head stuns cricket world in record IPL drama amid awesome Pat Cummins detail

Travis Head has sent a stunning warning to his cricket rivals ahead of the T20 World Cup, with an astonishing batting display for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League. In what proved to be the perfect birthday present for Head's teammate and Test captain Pat Cummins, the SRH opener belted an outrageous 89 not out off just 30 balls to set up a crushing win over Lucknow Super Giants that left the cricket world gobsmacked.

Head bludgeoned eight sixes and eight fours in the extraordinary innings, with his opening partner Abhishek Sharma teeing off at the other end with an equally eye-catching 75 not out off 28 balls. The opening pair's pyrotechnics saw the Sunrisers chase down Lucknow Super Giants' 4-165 with less than half of their allotted 20 overs played.

The staggering unbeaten 167-run opening stand came off just 9.4 overs at Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, clinching the win for SRH with 62 balls still remaining, which is the biggest margin for a 150+ run chase in IPL history. SRH's 167-run total is also the highest score by any team by the end of the tenth over in men's T20 history.

The resounding win was the perfect 31st birthday present for Cummins and his Sunrisers side, cementing their spot in third on the ladder and strengthening their playoff hopes. Beaten Lucknow skipper KL Rahul could only marvel at the masterclass from Head and Sharma after the match, admitting they had witnessed something quite unbelievable. “I’m lost for words. We’ve watched that batting on TV but that was unreal,” the Lucknow skipper said of the Hyderabad openers. “Everything was hitting the middle of the bat, kudos to their skill, they’ve worked very hard on their six-hitting.”

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Cricket world loses it as Travis Head stars in record scenes

Head's latest masterclass saw him move into third on the run-scoring charts in the IPL this season with a whopping 533 runs at an average of 53.30 and a strike-rate of 201.89. And Cummins echoed the thoughts of fans around the world after marvelling at his Aussie teammate's incredible ball-striking ability. "It certainly doesn't surprise me any more," Cummins said about Head. "He's been like this for the last few years. He might not be super-conventional but he's got a great eye, hits the middle of the bat a lot and he's having a wonderful tournament."

Travis Head on fire ahead of T20 World Cup

In an ominous sign of his form ahead of next month's T20 World Cup in the USA and Caribbean, Head cracked 22 off Krishnappa Gowtham's second over and then stepped it up in the fifth over after dispatching Naveen-ul-Haq for 24 runs off his six deliveries. The brutal display of big-hitting saw Head race past his half-century in just 16 balls.

"Very, very good fun," a smiling Head said about his batting the game. "The last 12 months being back in the Australian team, that's how they've wanted me to play and I'm not trying to change anything, just trying to maximise that powerplay. It's not going to work all the time but I'm going to try to be as consistent as I can, give myself the best opportunity and hopefully do my part for the team."

Sunrisers are now in a good position to make the playoffs, with Hyderabad third in the table on 14 points and with their net run-rate enjoying a serious boost from the massive win. The Justin Langer-coached Lucknow, for whom Marcus Stoinis fell early for three, now lie sixth in the standings and face an uphill battle to qualify for the playoffs.