Sunrisers Hyderabad opener Travis Head, dedicated his celebration after scoring a century against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru to head coach Daniel Vettori. Head was in sublime form, devastating the RCB bowlers at M Chinnaswamy Stadium with a flawless onslaught. He struck the fastest century of IPL 2024, reaching 100 runs in just 39 deliveries, the fourth fastest ton in IPL history.

The left-handed batter’s celebration evoked memories of former RCB opener Chris Gayle as he removed his helmet, hung it on the handle of his bat, and raised the bat skyward in triumph.

“The celebration was for Dan Vettori. We were discussing celebrations a few days ago, including the ones he did. We had a running joke off the pitch, and it was a small inside joke for Vettori.” stated Head during the post-match press conference.

RCB put up a record-breaking total for the hosts to chase, but they fought hard against all the odds to bring the game close. Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis provided a fiery start that laid the foundation for a record breaking chase. Meanwhile, Dinesh Karthik acted as the driving force that brought RCB closer to the huge target.

Despite RCB posting a formidable 262/7, Head praised SRH’s bowling unit for their strong performance, highlighting skipper Pat Cummins as the standout bowler for the visitors.

“We bowled well overall, restricting the opposition to 5/120 despite DK’s brilliant innings that brought them back into the match. Our plan was to bowl tight overs upfront and take wickets in the middle to set up the win. Pat bowled exceptionally to lead the attack. Though DK’s innings almost got them over the line, we executed our bowling plans well for most of the innings.”

Coming into the match, RCB elected to field first. A terrific century by Travis Head (102) and a quickfire 67 by Heinrich Klaasen powered the visitors to a formidable 287/3. In response, Kohli (42) and du Plessis (62) gave RCB a solid start but consistent wickets derailed their chase. Dinesh Karthik starred again with a sensational 83, but it wasn’t enough as RCB fell short by 25 runs.

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