Travis Head's IPL heroics are overshadowed by the 'craziest' match in cricket history

Travis Head with star in front Sunrisers Hyderabad while records plummeted in the IPL on Wednesday. The Aussie scored an incredible 62 off just 24 balls, but his stunning innings was overshadowed by what has been dubbed the 'craziest' IPL match ever, with the game setting a new record for the highest scoring T20 match in history.

On a night where records were falling left, right and centre, Sunrisers set a new IPL record for the highest total in the history of the competition, finishing 3 for 277. Mumbai put up a fierce battle in their chase but came away ultimately 31 runs short at 5 for 246. .

It was little consolation, but their chase helped set a new record for the highest scoring T20 match, with 523 runs scored, surpassing the T20's 517. South Africa and the West Indies just over a year ago. The match also broke another record for most maximums in a T20 game, 38.

Head stole all the headlines early, hitting his fifty off just eighteen balls, before teammate Abhishek Sharma reached the milestone in sixteen deliveries. The Australian batsman looked back to his best as he hit three sixes and nine fours in an exciting innings. He also helped the team reach a hundred in just seven overs as Hyderabad posted the tournament's highest ever total in the first 10 overs of 2-148.

After both he and Sharma were dismissed, South African pair Heinrich Klaasen and Aiden Markram picked up where they left off, hitting 80 and 42 not out respectively, as the Sunrisers surpassed the previous IPL record team total of 5 for 263 – achieved by Royal Challengers. Bangalore vs Pune Warriors in 2013 – finished 3-277.

In response, Mumbai took off at a great clip, scoring 56 runs off the first 19 balls. They kept pace with the high run-rate for a long time – reaching 150 in the 10th over – but eventually all five top-order batsmen were caught trying hard to keep up with the required run-rate.

Sunrisers captain Pat Cummins chipped the ball and took the key wicket of opener Rohit Sharma (26 off 12 balls) and later Tilak Varma (64 off 34). Mumbai still finished with an incredible score of 5-246, and in turn helped the match reach the highest total in T20 history.

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The number of records broken somewhat overshadowed Head's innings. The Aussie looked back to his best after enduring an up-and-down summer, and looked to recapture the form that helped Australia to World Cup glory last year. Head showed his power and precision throughout his innings in a promising sign ahead of the T20 World Cup in June. His free-flowing batting provided a strong platform for his IPL side to reach the record total and social media was abuzz with his return to form.

Mitch Marsh will most likely captain Australia in the T20 World Cup in June

Australian coach Andrew McDonald confirmed earlier this month Mitch Marsh is in the box-seat to lead Australia at the T20 World Cup in June. Since Aaron Finch's retirement, Marsh has captained the T20 side on several occasions, with Matt Wade the only other player to have captained the team after Finch.

Cummins – who also captains the Sunrisers in the IPL – is seen as another potential T20 captaincy option after leading Australia to ODI World Cup triumph late last year. However, speaking after Australia the Test series against New Zealand 2-0, McDonald said Marsh is his preferred option.

“That will be a discussion when we get home. I think all roads will lead to Mitch, so I just have to check that off in certain areas,” he said. “We are happy and comfortable with the way he has been able to operate with that T20 team. We think he is the leader for the World Cup and I think that will only be a matter of time.”

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Marsh captained the T20 side in a 3-0 series defeat of the Black Caps and looks almost certain to captain the side in the tournament opener against Oman in Barbados on June 6. Before the New Zealand T20 series, Marsh said he didn't feel like he was on trial as captain and stated he was proud to be given the extra responsibility.

“I'm not auditioning for the role. I'm here to do a job,” he said. “I am very proud to be captaining Australia in the series and those decisions will be made in the coming months.”

with AAP