Abhishek Sharma has returned to his best in the Indian Premier League 2026, and the Sunrisers Hyderabad opener scored a hundred against the Delhi Capitals in Match 31. The southpaw reached 104 off 47 balls, laced with 9 sixes and 7 fours, with his runs coming at a strike rate of over 220. After struggling in the format, Abhishek showed signs of returning to form when he entered the 19th season of the tournament.

In the first match of the ongoing edition against the Royals Challengers Bengaluru, he posted just 7. However, he took his tally to 48 in the second contest vs the Kolkata Knight Riders. Abhishek failed to open his account against the Lucknow Super Giants. The below-par performance didn’t impact his confidence, and he roared back to aggressive best, accumulating 74 runs against the Punjab Kings. The game vs Rajasthan Royals saw him getting dismissed for a duck for the second time in the season.

The 25-year-old worked hard in the nets and came up with a well-compiled 59 against the Chennai Super Kings.

In just 85 IPL matches, he has crossed the 2100-run mark, with the help of 2 centuries and 12 half-centuries. He has an average of almost 30 and a strike rate of nearly 170.

He has also become the first batter in the IPL 2026 to go past 300 runs and is leading the race for the Orange Cap.

Abhishek is the third batter to hit a hundred in the current season, with CSK’s Sanju Samson and MI’s Tilak Varma being the other two.

Coming back to the SRH vs DC match, Abhishek and Travis Head added 97 runs for the first wicket in 8.5 overs, with the latter contributing 37 runs off 26 balls. Abhishek then joined hands with captain Ishan Kishan, and the two stitched a stand of 79 runs for the second wicket.