The left-handed batter scored a blazing 74 against arch-rivals Pakistan.
The second Super 4s clash in the ongoing Asia Cup 2025 was all but one sided. The Men in Blue surfed their way past arch-rivals Pakistan to register a thumping six-wicket victory, thanks to Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill’s aggressive batting. Suryakumar Yadav put Pakistan in to bat after winning the toss, which was followed by no handshake between the two captains.
Pakistan started off very well and carried themselves to a respectable 171/5 on the back of a creditable knock from Sahibzada Farhan. The right-hander was given a couple of lifelines by the Men in Blue, and he took complete advantage of the chances. He was dropped by Abhishek Sharma at third-man in the opening moments of the clash.
However, the match-winning knock came from Abhishek Sharma, who raced to a quickfire 74 off just 39 deliveries. Along with Shubman Gill, he took the Pakistani bowlers to the cleaners right from ball one. The two young Indian batters from Punjab stitched a wonderful partnership and carried India to the 100-run mark in just eight overs.
But Abhishek lost his wicket towards the dying stages of the game. Rather, he threw it away. Abrar Ahmed bowled a quite mediocre delivery which was pitched short and ended up well outside off-stump. Abhishek went for the maximum over long-on and handed an easy catch to Haris Rauf. India still needed 49 runs to get, and he could have had a shot at his century.
Former India opener Virender Sehwag presented some handy advice to Abhishek Sharma in an interaction after the match. The triple centurion told Abhishek to make sure that he converts his starts once he gets going. It is not everyday that a batter gets to play the way Abhishek did against Pakistan. And hence, Sehwag advised the youngster to make full use of his opportunities. Had Abhishek continued, he could have had a good crack at a third T20I ton.
Sehwag’s style was not a lot different from how Abhishek approaches his game. The former opener also made it a point to take the attack to the opposition, and was known to be the aggressor. Abhishek’s numbers in the shortest format of the game are scary for any bowler who plays against him. In 21 T20Is, Abhishek has scored 708 runs with three fifties and two hundreds. But his strike-rate is where he impresses the most. He strikes at 197.21, scoring runs at almost two times the number of balls he faces.
To add to that, Abhishek trains closely with former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh. The 2011 ODI World Cup all-rounder takes keen interest in Abhishek’s batting and always guides the youngster. In the conversation with Sehwag, Abhishek voiced Yuvraj’s opinions on they way Abhishek approaches the game. Having said that, the way the left-handed youngster is playing will keep the Men in Blue in high spirits.
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Right back in 2007/08 when T20Is were a new thing, teams used to approach the format in a very different way than what they do today. Having a watchful start and then launching after a platform being laid was the approach. But now, with the emergence of global T20 leagues and the exposure which players have been getting, things are changing rapidly.
The new template in T20I batting is aggressive. Teams are no longer interested in playing ‘watchful’ cricket when it comes to the shortest format. Teams like Australia and England have made their intentions very clear, that they will go after the bowling from the word go. With players like Abhishek Sharma in the ranks, the Indian team would also be eyeing to do the same.
This strategy will not click every single time. There would be moments when Abhishek will be back in the dugout in the very first or the second over. But that is a risk the team is willing to take. Among the four openers who have played for India in T20Is post the 2024 T20 World Cup, Abhishek has the highest strike-rate, followed by Sanju Samson. Shubman Gill was the last on that list, but is showing signs of improvement.
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