At the end of Powerplay, Lucknow Super Giants were 27/2. Sunrisers Hyderabad, in pursuit of 166, were 107 without loss after six overs at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Wedneday.

Travis Head (89 not out off 30 balls) and his opening partner Abhishek Sharma (75 not out off 28 balls) had already done more than three-fourth of the job for the Sunrisers as they eventually crushed the Super Giants by 10 wickets with a good 10.2 overs remaining. The game didn’t even last three hours, courtesy Head and Sharma’s onslaught which helped their team overhaul Lucknow’s 165/4 in barely 45 minutes.

Such a commanding win propelled the Sunrisers to third in the points table alongside boosting their net run rate, while it also brought about the end of Mumbai Indians’ campaign in this IPL. For MI to keep their playoffs hopes alive, Lucknow had to beat the Sunrisers.

On a slow surface, it was a struggle for the Lucknow batsmen early on as they were languishing at 66/4 in the 12 th over before Ayush Badoni’s unbeaten 55 off 30 balls and Nicholas Pooran’s 48 not out off 26 balls pushed the visitors past the 160-mark. But even though dew didn’t seem to be a factor, the Hyderabad pitch certainly looked easier for batting as the game progressed, which Lucknow too found out during their defence of the total.

In the run chase, Head, in the form of his life at present, was on the ball right away, cashing in on anything had even a little bit of width and room. Sharma, too, did the same, making sure not to let go of even one loose ball.

In other words, it was just insane hitting by the Sunrisers openers as it seemed they were out there at a six-hitting practice session facing net bowlers. With due respect to the Lucknow bowlers, they were mediocre to say the least and often fed Head and Sharma with awfully poor deliveries.

Earlier, Badoni produced an innings of quality improvisation that was pivotal in lifting the Super Giants total. At ease against both quicks and spinners, Badoni found the boundaries on both sides of the wicket as his unbroken 99-run stand with Pooran was massive in taking the Super Giants to a total that looked challenging, till the Sunrisers’ run chase began.

Lucknow’s turnaround began from the 14th over when Badoni’s innovative shots earned 17 runs off T. Natarajan’s over.

The Sunrisers, meanwhile, had given a debut to the Jaffna-based leg-spinner Vijayakanth Viyaskanth — first in the IPL from Sri Lanka’s northern tip, which used to be the epicentre of the civil war in the country. The 22-year-old finished wicketless, but was expensive only in his final over, not giving away much in his first three.

But at the end of the day, what mattered for the Sunrisers was their opening duo’s amazing performance which came as an ideal birthday present to skipper Pat Cummins, who turned 31 on Wednesday.

For Head though, it was good fun batting with Sharma. “It was a lot of fun. Abhi and I have had good partnerships. It was nice to get it done and yeah, very, very good fun. I’ve been concentrating hard and trying to get into good positions,” Head said.

Not just against pacers, but even against spinners, Head has been looking quite intimidating, dating back to last year’s ODI World Cup.

With just a few weeks left for the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the United States, where spin is likely to play an important role, Head’s rhythm bodes really well for him and Australia.