Abhishek Sharma, talented Indian opener, didn’t have the best of the T20 World Cup 2026, given that he started with three consecutive ducks and made one solitary fifty in the Super 8s, against Zimbabwe.

Abhishek Sharma had trouble finding his rhythm and seemingly had a chink in his armor while facing off-spinners, which was exploited by the opposition. There were calls for Abhishek Sharma to be dropped from the India XI ahead of the final on March 8, against New Zealand.

However, Abhishek Sharma was persisted with by the Indian team management, and he came good in the final, hitting 52 in 21 balls with 6 fours and 3 sixes, helping India post 92 runs in the powerplay itself. This enabled India to go big in the summit clash, and with Sanju Samson (89) and Ishan Kishan (54) contributing, India posted 255/5 in 20 overs.

In response, Tim Seifert made 52 and Mitchell Santner made 43, but New Zealand was bowled out for 159 runs, with Jasprit Bumrah taking four and Axar Patel taking three wickets. India won the final by 96 runs and became the first three-time T20 World Cup champions.

After the match, Abhishek Sharma revealed that he had the full backing of India coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Suryakumar Yadav despite his failures, even when he doubted himself.

“The one thing was very clear; I wanted to share before as well, but today is the best day. The captain and coach had faith in me. Even I was doubting myself. I had never experienced this before. It was a tough tournament,” Abhishek Sharma told reporters after the match.

“I was just doing my process, trying to take it one game after another, but it wasn’t easy. But I love this team because of the way they backed me. It wasn’t easy for me because, going through the whole year, I was doing well for the team, but in the big tournament, I wasn’t able to.

“But the faith the team and management showed in me. I got emotional in the middle of the tournament and wanted to talk to the coach and captain, and they said you’ll win us the big games. The crowd has supported us a lot even through tough times," Abhishek added.

Abhishek Sharma ended with 141 runs in 8 games with two fifties and three ducks at a strike rate of 158.42.

(ANI inputs)