Abhishek Sharma breathes fire: Opener smashes maiden international ton as India win by 100 runs to level series
Harare, July 7
Young Abhishek Sharma announced his arrival on the big stage with a breathtaking 46-ball century as India pummelled Zimbabwe by 100 runs in the second T20I to restore parity in the series. This is India’s biggest margin of victory in terms of runs against Zimbabwe in T20Is.
Lucky charm
Abhishek Sharma said he used the bat of his childhood friend, and now his captain, Shubman Gill in the second T20I. “It has been quite beautiful, starting as kids of 11-12 years. When I was selected for the country, the first call I received was from Shubman,” said Abhishek. “Today, I played with his bat, so special thanks to the bat. It happened from the under-12 days, as whenever I play a pressure game I ask him for a bat. Today was no exception as it went well as it usually happens,” he added. The left-hander also thanked former India batter Yuvraj Singh and his own father for the fearless cricket that he is able to play now.
46
Balls Abhishek Sharma needed for his century, the joint third-fastest for India in men’s T20Is. Rohit Sharma’s 35-ball century and Suryakumar Yadav’s 45-ball ton are the two fastest for India, while KL Rahul also had a 46-ball hundred
1
Abhishek became the first player to complete his ton in men’s international cricket by hitting three back-to-back sixes. He needed 2 innings to score his maiden T20Is ton — no one from a Full Member country has got that landmark out of the way so quickly
The young Indian side didn’t carry the baggage of their shock 13-run defeat in the opener as left-handed opener Abhishek blended power with grace for a scintillating 100-run knock that propelled India to 234/2 on a track where batting wasn’t exactly easy.
The ask was already stiff and India’s bowlers got breakthroughs at regular intervals to bowl out Zimbabwe for 134 in 18.4 overs to set the record straight.
Pacers Mukesh Kumar (3/37) and Avesh Khan (3/15) removed the top-order inside the powerplay to kill the contest which became a formality after that.
The day certainly belonged to Abhishek, who embellished his innings with eight sixes and seven fours. It made a normally stylish Ruturaj Gaikwad (77 not out off 47 balls) look pale in comparison during their 137-run stand for the second wicket.
His innings would also increase the headache for skipper Shubman Gill and stand-in coach VVS Laxman, who would need to take a tough call with Yashasvi Jaiswal being available from the third game.
After his century, there is no way that the Sunrisers Hyderabad opener can be dropped from the playing XI. Having endured the disappointment of a four-ball duck on debut, Abhishek never looked under pressure.
He took calculated risks which paid off and allowed Gaikwad at the other end to get into the groove after playing and missing for the better part of his innings.
Abhishek got a reprieve on 27 when Wellington Masakadza dropped a regulation skier off Luke Jongwe. He never looked back after that. He started his international run account with a pulled six off spinner Brian Bennett, who had got the better of him on Saturday. His fifty came off another pulled six behind square off medium pacer Dion Myers, whose 28-run over actually opened the floodgates. Abhishek then raised his milestone hundred with three consecutive sixes.
With the series levelled at 1-1, it is expected that Sanju Samson will replace Dhruv Jurel behind the stumps, Shivam Dube with his all-round skills will replace Sai Sudharsan and Riyan Parag might have to sacrifice his place for Jaiswal in the match scheduled on July 10.
Brief scores: India: 234/2 in 20 overs (Abhishek 100, Ruturaj 77*, Rinku 48*); Zimbabwe: 134 all out in 18.4 overs (Mukesh 3/37, Avesh 3/15, Bishnoi 2/11).
