Following India's 14-run victory over the West Indies in the third T20I at Indore, opener Abhishek Sharma reflected on the team's huddle strategy.

Sharma highlighted that because West Indies have an explosive batting line-up capable of chasing any target in batting-friendly conditions, India specifically discussed the absolute necessity to remain ruthless.

The southpaw emphasized that even if India put themselves in a commanding position or picked up early powerplay wickets, they could not afford to deliver a single bad ball or let the opposition off the hook.

With the series tied at 1-1, India posted 223 in the third T20I before restricting the visitors to 209/7, with Arshdeep Singh taking three wickets and Naman Dhir claiming two to help the hosts take a lead. However, West Indies’ Shamar Springer brought things mighty close with his unbeaten 35 off just 11 balls, hitting three sixes and a boundary in the last over.

“West Indies is such a team, you can never say that the match has come to us against them. This was also in our mind, because we saw in the last match that the batters who come, the conditions here, it is very easy for them to take a match [away] from anywhere,” Abhishek said in the post-match presser.

“So it was in our minds, when we were playing, we were talking about this in the huddle that we will be ruthless, we will not leave, and we will not give a single chance for a comeback.

“If you have seen today as well, the way [Shamar] Springer batted, we were really surprised [by] the way he played those shots. They weren’t easy shots. So you have to be on your toes all the time. If they are 50 for 5 as well, I think they have that capability to turn things around for themselves. In that case, we were very much prepared this time. If we got a good Powerplay in bowling, we can't just give them one bad ball at that point of time. We just wanted to execute our plans and that's what we did,” he added.

Abhishek was India’s top-scorer with a 30-ball 69, featuring 6 fours and 5 sixes. However, he was content to nudge the ball around initially, starting with a run-a-ball 5 across the first 2.2 overs.

Reflecting on his uncharacteristic cautious approach at the start, the left-hander said it was deliberate. Recognizing that the Caribbean off-spinner Roston Chase had dismissed him in the first two matches of the series, Sharma decided to show the bowler some early respect rather than blindly attacking from ball one.

“It was there in my mind that they had a plan against me. Obviously, an offspinner [Roston Chase] bowled in the first over. So it was just a battle between him and me. I gave him respect in the first over because I think he's bowling really well in this series. So it's just that the plan went pretty well for me as well, because in the Powerplay only, I was trying to just get a few runs. They had a plan for me, and I had to play better than that,” he remarked.

Once he read the conditions and got a sighter of Chase, Abhishek Sharma turned it on in the third over. He smashed Chase for a four and two consecutive sixes, rapidly accelerating his strike rate from 100 to over 233.

Alongside Ishan Kishan (37 off 18), Abhishek stitched together a blistering 108-run partnership off just 40 deliveries, laying the foundation for India's massive total.

When asked about their batting chemistry, Abhishek explained how well he understands Kishan from their time together in domestic cricket, the IPL, and the national setup, noting that he actively tries to use humor to alleviate pressure when the latter first arrives at the crease.

“I have to make him [Kishan] laugh, I have to relax him a little. Because he likes to be in that zone when he comes to bat. But, I feel like there is a bonding between the two of us. We have had so many partnerships, even in the IPL as well. So, we understand each other pretty well.

"Obviously Ishan comes in when a wicket is down, in the first three, four balls, or in the first two balls, [there is] that little pressure [and] I just always want him to be released from that and just play the way he always plays. And I think like he did last year or so…we don't talk much about the conditions and everything when we are out there. We just enjoy each other's batting, and just complement each other.”

(With Cricbuzz Inputs)