India opener Abhishek Sharma wreaked havoc on the Pakistani bowling attack in the Asia Cup 2025 Super 4 clash at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday (September 21).

The southpaw led the charge with a blazing 39-ball 74, sharing an entertaining 105-run opening stand with Shubman Gill (47 off 28) as the Men in Blue chased down 172 with six wickets in hand and seven deliveries to spare.

During his whirlwind knock, featuring 6 fours and 5 sixes, Abhishek was involved in a heated exchange with Pakistan fast bowlers Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf.

The left-hander hurled abuses at Shaheen after hitting a first-ball six though the camera didn’t show what the Pakistan pace spearhead said to him before that. In another instance, when Gill hit Rauf for a boundary, Abhishek and the latter had a big argument, prompting the intervention of umpires.

After the game, Abhishek Sharma addressed his confrontation with the Pakistani players, accusing the opponent of provoking his team with ‘personal attacks’, which motivated him to go after them and deliver for India.

“I needed to do something because I didn’t like what was happening," Abhishek said afterwards in a chat with Sony Sports Network.

“The words that were being said… after every ball, they were making personal attacks. Shubman Gill and I were talking about it — that we’ll win our team the match and give them a befitting reply," he added.

Earlier, Abhishek Sharma had mentioned the same thing while speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony.

“Today was pretty simple; the way they were coming onto us without any reason, I did not like it at all," Abhishek said.

“That’s why I went after them. I wanted to deliver for the team. We (he and Gill) have been playing since school days, we enjoy each other’s company, we thought we would do it and today was the day. The way he was giving it back, I really enjoyed it. If you see someone playing like this, it’s because the team supports me and they back me. That’s the intent I show and I’m practicing really hard and if it’s my day, I’m gonna win it for my team," he further remarked.