Abhishek Sharma played the best innings of his new T20I career against England at the Eden Gardens. The left-handed batter scored 79 runs off 34 balls, including eight sixes and five fours in the series opener. His hitting didn’t allow the English team to put India under pressure as the hosts registered a seven-wicket victory to go 1-0 up in the five-match T20I series.
Despite losing his opening partner, Sanju Samson, and skipper Suryakumar Yadav, in one over, Abhishek went for shots to put the rivals on the back foot. He spoke to Ravi Shastri after the match, who compared his batting to a club cricket match. “The you were hitting the ball, it looked like you were playing in a club cricket match,” Ravi Shastri said.
Abhishek lauded head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Suryakumar. “I want to thank the coach and the captain for giving me the freedom to play my brand of cricket. They are backing us. Our bowlers bowled well, but I was expecting England to score 160 runs,” he said.
He also shed light on his partnership with Sanju Samson. “We talk to each other in the middle. When he hits the ball, I enjoy from the other end,” he added.
England were bowled out for 132 runs, while India completed the chase in 12.5 overs with seven wickets in hand.
