New Delhi [India], February 3 (ANI): Indian opener Abhishek Sharma impressed during the recently concluded series of five T20Is against England, saving the best for the last to blast off 135 in just 54 balls in the final T20I at Mumbai’s iconic Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.
Abhishek’s knock, laced with seven fours and 13 sixes, was not an inning, but rather a statement served to world cricket in front of a Wankhede Stadium packed with celebrities and personalities including Mukesh Ambani, Aamir Khan, Rajeev Shukla, Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan. It was a message that no matter what bowling speed, variation or status, a bowler would be sent to cleaners if the ball was there to be hit. A new India T20I line-up is emerging and Abhishek could very well be at its helm soon.
Be it express pace specialists Jofra Archer and Mark Wood or the number one T20I bowler Adil Rashid, considered as the greatest England leg-spinner, or other bowlers filling up the rest of the overs, everyone was treated with absolute disdain. The 140 kmph-plus rockets by Archer and Wood met the sweet spot of left-hander’s bat easily and the youngster used their pace to his advantage. Rashid’s line and length, which troubled India for a game or two, lost its magic in front of Abhishek’s willow.
Numerous records were broken. Sharma’s knock is India’s highest T20I individual score, outdoing 126* by Shubman Gill against New Zealand in Ahmedabad in 2023. Abhishek’s knock was laced with 13 sixes, the most by an Indian in a T20I innings. He had outdone the previous highest amount of sixes, ten each by Rohit Sharma against Sri Lanka in Indore in 2017, Sanju Samson against South Africa in Durban in 2024 and Tilak Varma against South Africa in Joburg in 2024.
After Australian star Glenn Maxwell, Abhishek is only the second player from Test-playing nations to score a century and take multiple wickets in a T20I match, scoring 135 and taking two wickets for three runs in the first over.
While the 24-year-old’s high-risk, high-reward style makes him a ‘boom or bust’ player that should get immense backing because of his high impact when he comes off, the left-hander has recently shown signs of consistency that could earn him an ODI place soon and perhaps help him become a white-ball batting great in long run.
Sharma’s international career started with a duck against Zimbabwe and he responded really well to this setback with a 47-ball ton in the second T20I. A string of frustrating low-scores followed, but the Gautam Gambhir-Suryakumar Yadav led regime trusted Abhishek’s gifts.
After seven low scores that followed his maiden ton, Abhishek hit a half-century against South Africa at Centurion in November 2024 and the batter has not looked back since.
In his seven T20Is including his Centurion fifty, Abhishek has scored 365 runs at an average of 73.00, with a strike rate of over 214. He has scored a century and two half-centuries, with the best score of 135. What is interesting in these innings is that he has slowly learnt the art of rotating the strike, playing delightful grounded shots when the situation demands. He would only get better from here.
If his performances at the domestic competitions of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) and Vijay Hazare Trophy (SMAT) for Punjab are considered, Abhishek has unlocked a new level of consistency. In the SMAT 2024, Abhishek scored 255 runs in seven innings, at an average of 42.50 and a strike rate of 216.10. He scored a century and fifty, with best score of 106*.
During the Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) that followed, Abhishek emerged as the sixth-highest run-getter, with 467 runs in eight innings at an average of 58.44, with a strike rate of 130.44. He scored a century, a magnificent 170 off 96 balls against Saurashtra, to go with three high-impact fifties.
In all, in his last 22 innings starting with his fifty at Centurion, Abhishek has scored 1,087 runs at an average of 51.76. He has scored three centuries and six fifties, with the best score of 170.
In all T20Is since starting of SMAT 2023, which proved to be a breakthrough tournament for him as he led Punjab to a title with some incredible batting performances, Abhishek has scored 1,759 runs in 50 T20Is in 49 innings, at an average of 37.42, with a strike rate of 199.20. He has belted out five centuries and nine fifties, with the best score of 135, which are brilliant numbers at this day and age of high-risk T20 cricket. In these 50 matches, Abhishek has slammed 140 sixes!
These numbers showcase that its only a matter of two or three years before Abhishek is considered among the greats in T20 cricket, especially in the Indian scene, given he keeps up with his form. Also, his great numbers in recent 50-over outings in Punjab suggest that he could do well in ODIs as well and become a part of the team in near future. (ANI)
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