India opener Abhishek Sharma credits hard work and self-belief for his explosive, match-winning 54-ball 135 against England
Abhishek Sharma in full flow during the fifth T20I against England at Wankhede on Sunday. Pic/Atul Kamble
What an unbelievable bat swing this boy has, the best I have ever seen after Yuvraj Singh,” former Tamil Nadu all-rounder and now coach and Chennai Super Kings talent scout, Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan told mid-day on Monday morning.
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Sivaramakrishnan was only echoing the thoughts of a majority of Indian cricket fans who witnessed Abhishek Sharma smash his way to India’s highest individual T20I score on Sunday night on a batting-friendly Wankhede Stadium pitch.
A match that had Abhiskek’s 135 off 54 balls, which included 13 sixes and seven fours, along with a catch in the inning circle and two wickets with his left-arm spin to cap off a memorable day, doesn’t come often in one’s career. It was a near-perfect match for Abhishek.
Making it count
“Ask any player, such matches are very few. It’s all because of the efforts I put in during practice and the backing of the coach. I believed that if I had my day, I would play this kind of an innings,” Man of the Match Abhishek said after his second T20I hundred, which powered India to a 150-run victory over England and a 4-1 series win.
Abhishek did not fail to acknowledge the role played by his mentor Yuvraj Singh in instilling belief in his match-winning abilities. “Yuvi paaji was the one who put all these things in my mind. He was the one who believed in me. When someone like Yuvraj says you are going to play for the country and win matches, you do your best. He has played a major role in my cricketing career. It’s all because of him, the way he has treated me. He is someone who is always there for me,” he said.
Lara’s word of advice
The 24-year-old is very clear about how he wants to bat. A word of advice from the legendary West Indian Brian Lara has boosted his confidence. Abhishek said: “With the hard work I put in earlier, the results started coming. I backed myself to go out and express myself. I used to practise match scenarios. Lara once told me, ‘play your shots, but make sure you don’t get out.’ I began to play with intent. When you do well, your team supports you. When it’s my day, I play like this, be it for Punjab or for a franchise. And, when it’s for India, it is a special moment. There will be ups and downs, but you have to be clear about how you want to play and this is how I want to play.”
Abhishek won the admiration of England captain Jos Buttler. “I’ve played quite a lot of cricket and credit to Abhishek Sharma. I thought that was as clean a ball-striking as I’ve seen. He played fantastically well. We always sit down and think what more could we have done or how could we have stopped him, but some days, you have to give a lot of credit to the opposition. He played brilliantly well, such a talent, excellent, crisp timing and power.”
