Sharma took the English bowling attack to the cleaners at the Wankhede Stadium.
Opening the innings, the southpaw took the English bowling attack to the cleaners. He reached his half-century off 17 balls – the second-fastest fifty for India in Men's T20Is.
Sharma continued his carnage and took another 20 deliveries to notch up his three-figure mark. His 37-ball ton happens to be the second-fastest hundred for India in the shortest format.
His whirlwind knock of 135 in 54 balls, including seven boundaries and 13 sixes, propelled the Men in Blue to a mammoth 247/9 in 20 overs.
After the game, Abhishek Sharma attributed his dazzling century to his extensive pre-match preparations.
"You can ask any player, such matches are very few (and far between). I would say it was all possible because of the efforts I put in the practice, the backing I got from the coaches and the captain when I was not getting the runs or not bowling well," Abhishek said in the post-match presser.
"All these things calculate (work out well) at the end and I had the belief that on my day, I will play an innings like this," he added.
Abhishek said he enjoyed using the pace of the England pacers as well as hitting their leg-spinner Adil Rashid.
"I do not remember half of them now to be honest," he quipped. "But the way I used the pace of the bowlers over covers or even against Adil Rashid… it felt good. I try to generate the match scenarios in nets and use the bowlers the way I am going to face in the match," Abhishek said.
The 24-year-old said his celebrations after reaching his second T20I hundred were for his family and once again acknowledged Yuvraj Singh’s support during the journey.
"My mother and sister are here for the match and when your parents are here and you play an innings like that in front of them, it makes you feel happy and proud for being able to share such a moment," he said.
Abhishek claimed that there is no sense of rivalry among the young Indian batters, such as Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill.
"I met Jaiswal and Shubman yesterday (on Saturday). We are playing together since U-16, there is no such feeling. The only dream was to play for India and since all three of us are playing there is no bigger thing than that," he remarked.