It just happens when it's your day - Abhishek Sharma on his 141

In the heat of one of IPL's most memorable run chases, Abhishek Sharma took a quiet moment for something deeply personal. Just after reaching his maiden IPL century, the 24-year-old raised his bat, punched the air in delight and then held up a note with six simple words written on it: "THIS ONE IS FOR ORANGE ARMY."

It wasn't a rehearsed gesture, he would reveal, but the culmination of thoughts brewing in his head since morning. "I wrote it today only because usually I wake up and write something," Abhishek said. "So, today I got a random thought that if I do something today, that will be for the Orange Army. So, luckily, I thought today was my day. I wrote it today, and I think it was a good, lucky day."

Lucky would be an understatement. Abhishek didn't just score a hundred; he scored 141 off 55 balls, the highest individual score by an Indian in the history of IPL and the third highest overall. His innings helped Sunrisers Hyderabad make mincemeat of a 246-run target, making it the second-highest successful chase in IPL history. The feat also brought to an end a four-match losing streak for SRH.

"If I say no, it will be a lie," Abhishek said candidly about the pressure on him coming into this match. "Obviously, there is pressure if you are not doing well for 3-4 innings. Especially if you are losing the matches. So, I think there is a little pressure on the individual in a team.

"But, as I said earlier in the [presentation] ceremony, I didn't feel that there is anyone in the team who feels that we are losing the match or something. You know, no one's mindset was negative. Only positivity from everyone. Because everyone was waiting for such a blast to happen from the SRH team. And luckily, we had to break this streak today."

It wasn't the perfect buildup to this match for Abhishek - and it wasn't just form. He was also sick in the five-day break between the matches.

"To be honest, I was sick for four days. I had a temperature," revealed Abhishek. "But luckily, you know, I feel I am very grateful to have people like Yuvraj Singh and Suryakumar [Yadav] around me, because they were the ones who were continuously calling me. Because they knew that I could do something like this. But still, as an individual, any player would have started doubting themselves a bit. But the thing was, it was pretty much clear that they believed in me. And you know, when someone like them believes in you, you obviously start believing again."

It was the kind of night where everything aligned for Abhishek, including the gaps in the field and his bat swing with the trajectory of the ball.

"I asked Klaasen, what do you think? He said, just go for it. But still, somehow I felt like in this situation, if I keep going, the match can end early," Abhishek said of the run chase. "Because there is no total safe here, I feel, if it's your day. So, that was in my mind. I thought it's my day, and I have to beat the team today."

Abhishek's 171-run opening stand with Travis Head broke records and left the Punjab Kings attack deflated and out of ideas. His individual innings featured 24 boundaries, the joint second-most in an IPL innings behind Chris Gayle, and included 10 sixes, the most ever by an SRH batter in a single innings.

"There was nothing going on in between us when we were at the pitch," Abhishek said of the record opening stand. "It was just watching the ball and playing your game. Because we, whenever we played as partners or, you know, did something for the team, it's always been on a winning side. So, we knew if we're going to give the team the way they wanted, it's going to happen. And it was just very simple talks. Even if you see me and Travis just, you know, complimenting each other, that was one of the biggest positive things we do."

For Abhishek, though, it wasn't about records. It was about the team, its fans and a moment he had been waiting for after an indifferent start to the season.

"The message I wrote, I thought if it's my day, I am going to dedicate it to the Orange Army and to Hyderabad," Abhishek said.

"I think if you ask any of the batter, nobody can just say it and do it. It just happens when it's your day. So, I just wanted my day to come and just wanted to deliver for the team. And today was that day."