Young opener Abhishek Sharma gave another glimpse of his exceptional talent on Wednesday (January 25) as he slammed a whirlwind half-century to script India’s dominant seven-wicket victory over England at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Opting to bowl first, India bundled England out for a paltry 132 in 20 overs. Varun Chakravarthy (3/23) was the stand-out bowler while Arshdeep Singh (2/17), Axar Patel (2/22) and Hardik Pandya (2/42) chipped in with two scalps each.
In reply, the hosts overhauled the target with 43 deliveries to spare, courtesy of Abhishek’s brutal 79 off 34 balls with five boundaries and eight sixes.
Reflecting on his match-winning knock, the southpaw said he was merely expressing himself. Sharma also attributed his success to the captain-coach duo of Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir.
“I just wanted to express myself. A special mention to the captain and coach. They have given us a lot of freedom. The way they talk to youngsters, it's tremendous,” Abhishek said in a post-match interview.
He was also effusive in praise of the Indian bowling unit for restricting the visitors to a below-par score.
“It was a double-paced wicket. Our bowlers bowled well, they were really good. I thought we would chase something around 160-170, but the bowlers bowled really well.”
Abhishek and Sanju Samson came out to open the batting for India. Samson set the tone with a quickfire 26 runs, hitting Gus Atkinson for 22 runs off his first over itself, before departing.
“We (other batters) were always talking to each other. I enjoy from the other end when Sanju is batting,” the left-hander said.
After Samson’s dismissal, it was all Abhishek as he notched up his half-century off 20 balls and then scored some more to ensure India’s 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
“It's about expressing myself. The plan was simple. IPL has helped me a lot. I haven't seen a team environment like this. When it's coming from the captain and coach, to play freely, it's special. The way they (England pacers) bowled, I was ready for it. I knew they were going to bowl short,” he concluded.
The second T20I is scheduled to be played in Chennai on Saturday (January 25).
