You don’t often see Australians getting into heated exchanges in the IPL, but April 12 brought some unexpected drama at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. During Sunrisers Hyderabad’s high-octane run chase, opener Travis Head was involved in a tense on-field spat with Punjab Kings’ Glenn Maxwell. The situation flared up between overs and while Marcus Stoinis and the umpire stepped in to calm things down, Head was clearly fired up and in no mood to back down.
The incident happened in the ninth over, right after Travis Head hit Glenn Maxwell for two big sixes. One of the balls even flew into the crowd and landed close to the ‘Player of the Series’ car, which caused a short break in the game. When the match continued, Head and Maxwell were seen having a heated exchange. Maxwell bowled a dot ball to finish the over, but the argument had already caught everyone’s attention in the stadium.
As Travis Head walked over to his opening partner Abhishek Sharma, he exchanged a few words with Maxwell. The umpire stepped in to calm things down, and Marcus Stoinis also tried to speak to Head, but the opener didn’t back off. Videos of the incident quickly started spreading on social media.
Travis Head reached his half-century in the 11th over, taking just 31 balls. He was eventually dismissed by Yuzvendra Chahal after scoring a quick 66 off 37 balls hitting nine fours and three sixes. Head and Abhishek Sharma put together a massive 171-run stand in just 74 balls, which is now the second-highest opening partnership in Sunrisers Hyderabad’s history.
Heat moment between Glenn Maxwell and Travis Head.
📸: @StarSportsIndia | #SRHvPBKS pic.twitter.com/bjPnOPyhms
— CricAsh (@ash_cric) April 12, 2025
From History to Victory: SRH Pull Off Highest Chase of IPL 2025
In the same over, Abhishek Sharma scored his first-ever IPL century, achieving the feat in only 40 balls. It’s now the quickest hundred in an IPL run chase. He continued to punish the PBKS bowlers with some big hitting, but his amazing knock ended in the 17th over when Arshdeep Singh finally dismissed him. Abhishek hit a phenomenal 141 from 55 balls, hitting 14 fours and 10 sixes. It’s currently the highest Indian batter’s score in IPL history.
After Abhishek’s brilliant innings, Heinrich Klaasen made sure there were no surprises at the end. He stayed calm and finished the job, as SRH chased down the huge target of 246 with eight wickets in hand and nine balls to spare. The big win helped them move up from the bottom to eighth place on the points table. Their next game is at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on April 17.
ALSO READ: IPL 2025 Points Table: Updated Team Ranking, Standings, and Net Run Rate After SRH vs PBKS
