Ishan Kishan Breaks Record Of Highest Score On IPL Captaincy Debut For Sunrisers Hyderabad

Ishan Kishan is playing his first Indian Premier League (IPL) match as captain on Saturday (March 28). In the absence of Pat Cummins, Ishan is leading Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the first match of IPL 2026 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. In the fixture taking place at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, the 27-year-old left-handed batter came out to bat at No. 3 for the Orange Army and scored 80 runs from just 38 balls. During his stay at the crease he hammered 8 fours and 5 sixes for the 2016 champions and added 97 runs for the fourth wicket with Heinrich Klaasen (31) after Jacob Duffy reduced them to 29/3 in 4.2 overs.

The knock of 80 runs by Ishan on Saturday helped him break the record of the highest score on IPL captaincy debut for

SRH. The previous record of the highest score in the first IPL match as captain of SRH was in the name of Manish Pandey. Pandey made his IPL captaincy debut for SRH against Mumbai Indians in Abu Dhabi on October 8, 2021, and played an unbeaten knock of 69 runs from 41 balls in the 236-run chase.

David Warner, who led SRH to an IPL title in 2016, also scored a half-century in his first IPL match as SRH captain. He played a knock of 53 runs from 42 balls against Chennai Super Kings at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on April 11, 2015.

Highest score on IPL captaincy debut for Sunrisers Hyderabad

PLAYER	RUNS	BALLS	4/6s	AGAINST	VENUE	DATE
Ishan Kishan	80	38	8/5	Royal Challengers Bengaluru	Bengaluru	March 28, 2026
Manish Pandey	69*	41	7/2	Mumbai Indians	Abu Dhabi	October 8, 2021
David Warner	53	42	1/3	Chennai Super Kings	Chennai	April 11, 2015

The overall record of the highest score on IPL captaincy debut is in the name of Sanju Samson. Samson made his IPL captaincy debut for Rajasthan Royals on April 12, 2021, against Punjab Kings at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and, in the 222-run chase, scored 119 runs from 63 balls.

Sanju is followed by Mayank Agarwal, Shreyas Iyer, Faf du Plessis and Kieron Pollard, who scored 99*, 93*, 88 and 83 runs, respectively, in their first IPL match as captain.

Highest scores on first IPL match as captain

PLAYER	TEAM	RUNS	BALLS	4/6s	AGAINST	VENUE	DATE
Sanju Samson	Rajasthan Royals	119	63	12/7	Punjab Kings	Mumbai (WS)	April 12, 2021
Mayank Agarwal	Punjab Kings	99*	58	8/4	Delhi Capitals	Ahmedabad	May 2, 2021
Shreyas Iyer	Delhi Capitals	93*	40	3/10	Kolkata Knight Riders	Delhi	April 27, 2018
Faf du Plessis	Royal Challengers Bengaluru	88	57	3/7	Punjab Kings	Navi Mumbai	March 27, 2022
Kieron Pollard	Mumbai Indians	83	31	3/10	Punjab Kings	Mumbai (WS)	April 10, 2019
Ishan Kishan	Sunrisers Hyderabad	80	38	8/5	Royal Challengers Bengaluru	Bengaluru	March 28, 2026

In the ongoing match against RCB, Ishan also completed 3000 runs in the IPL. He needed 2180 balls to reach the 3000-run mark in the world’s richest franchise cricket league. Ishan is sixth on the list of Indian batters who have taken the fewest balls to score 3000 runs in the IPL.