Abhishek Sharma in India vs England 1 T20I match.© Agence France-Presse
India’s 24-year-old Abhishek Sharma followed in the footsteps of his mentor Yuvraj Singh, slamming a reckless fifty against England in the first T20I in Kolkata. In fact, Abhishek’s 20-ball half-century was the second-fastest T20I fifty by an Indian against England, after Yuvraj’s famous 12-ball 50, during which he hit Stuart Broad for six sixes in an over. The former India player also usually posts a tweet or two when Abhishek is performing well, and he was at his best after the match.
Moving on to X, Yuvraj praised Abhishek’s performance with a slice of humour.
“Good start to the series boys! Great tone set by the bowlers and we bowled well Abhishek Sharma sir, top hit!! I’m impressed you hit two boundaries on the ground too,” Yuvraj tweeted.
Abhishek finished with a brilliant 79 off just 34 balls, at a strike rate of over 232, helping India chase down the target of 133 in just 12.5 overs.
The left-hander laced his innings with five fours and eight sixes, showing a glimpse of the devastating form he showed during the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
Besides Jofra Archer, Abhishek and the rest of the Indian batting took the England bowlers to the cleaners. Jimmy Overton, Adil Rashid and Gus Atkinson all finished with economy rates of over 10.
Earlier, India put on a complete bowling show. Varun Chakravarthy impressed at home in the Indian Premier League, taking three wickets (23/3) and the Player of the Match award.
Arshdeep Singh showed class with the new ball, getting the dangerous Phil Salt for nothing and Ben Duckett for just 4. He finished with figures of 2/17 in four overs, and also became India’s all-time leading wicket-taker in T20I cricket.
India will next play England in the second T20I at Chipauk in Chennai, on January 25.
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