Abhishek smashed 69 off 30 balls in the third T20I against the West Indies in Indore.
Abhishek Sharma played a pivotal role in India's 14-run victory over the West Indies in the third T20I at the Holkar Stadium, Indore on Sunday (October 11).
The explosive opener top-scored for India with a blistering 69 runs off just 30 balls, tearing apart the Caribbean bowling unit with 6 fours and 5 massive sixes.
During his spectacular onslaught, Abhishek also reached a monumental career milestone by becoming the fastest-ever batter in terms of balls faced to cross 2,000 T20I runs, achieving the feat in a mere 1,024 deliveries to break Suryakumar Yadav's previous world record of 1,164 balls.
The southpaw stitched together a rapid 108-run partnership for the second wicket alongside Ishan Kishan (37 off 18), propelling India to a formidable total of 223.
The visitors pushed hard in their chase but were restricted to 209/7. Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh was named the Player of the Match for his decisive spell of 3/44.
After the game, veteran spinner Yuzvendra Chahal heaped praise on Abhishek Sharma, highlighting that the swashbuckling left-hander has maintained the exact same mindset, technique, and aggressive style since his international debut.
Chahal noted that when Abhishek gets going, he finishes games on his own without putting pressure on the rest of the batting lineup.
"Absolutely, the way he started in the first three matches of the World Cup, the runs hadn't come, but then he scored runs in the final, and then the runs in the Asian Games final. When he fires, he finishes the match. You don't have to go to the other batters," Chahal said during a discussion on Star Sports.
"The best thing about him is that he is playing the same way as he started in his first match. He hasn't changed anything in his game, and that's a big reason why he is successful," he added.
After a cautious first two overs to see off his nemesis Roston Chase, Abhishek unleashed an aggressive assault. He brought up his half-century in just 18 balls within the powerplay.
Reflecting on the opener’s uncharacteristic approach, Chahal remarked: "He showed respect in the first over. He figured out the pace on the wicket and how much it was spinning. If you are an opener and have the ability to cover later, his decision was right to have a look at two or three balls in the first over, and he knew at what pace the ball was coming and how much it was spinning. So, it became easy for him when Chase came to bowl his second over."
Chahal explained that when Abhishek shuffles far outside the off-stump, he intentionally exposes his wickets. This tricks the bowler into trying to hit the exposed stumps, hoping the batter will miss. However, Sharma's hand-eye coordination is so precise that he rarely misses.
"He has the reach. When he moves away from the stumps, it comes to the bowler's mind that he is showing him his stumps and is standing on the fifth or sixth stump, and whether he would miss, but he doesn't miss. He wants you to bowl there. He is hitting with just timing and is not putting any power. He is already standing on the sixth stump. So you have the option to bowl on the ninth stump. It won't be called a wide, but you keep following him and getting hit for sixes," Chahal stated.
Abhishek Sharma will next be in action during the penultimate T20I, slated to be held in Hyderabad on Wednesday (October 14).