Former Indian National Cricket Team spinner Piyush Chawla was in awe of the way Abhishek Sharma batted in the first T20I against England National Cricket Team. He called the batter X factor and said that the batter needed longer rope in the team.
Abhishek Sharma played a massive role for the India National Cricket Team in their 7-wicket win over the England National Cricket Team in the first T20I. The opening game of the five-match series between the teams took place at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Abhishek made the chase of 133 looks so easy as he went after the bowlers right from the start. He played high-risk Cricket and some breathtaking shots, slamming bowlers all over the park. The left-hander displayed ‘Yuvraj-like’ strokeplay and entertained the crowd.
Abhishek Sharma slammed his third century for the India
Abhishek slammed his third century for the India National Cricket Team and what was impressive was he reached the milestone in just 20 balls. He registered the second-fastest half-century by an Indian batter against England in T20Is, joining Yuvraj Singh, who achieved the feat in just 12 balls.
Abhishek ended with an innings of 79 off just 34 balls to go with 5 fours and 8 sixes, batting with a strike rate of over 232. Thanks to his brilliant effort with the bat, helped India National Cricket Team chase the target inside 13 overs and go 1-0 up in the series.
You have to give a longer rope to these guys – Piyush Chawal on Abhishek Sharma
Piyush Chawla called Abhishek a ‘high-risk batter’ and said that batters like him need a longer rope. He also talked about batter’s mindset and while speaking to Jio Cinema, he explained:
“Abhishek Sharma is a high-risk batter. When he scores runs in a game, that will be a match-winning innings. Abhishek is an X-factor player; if he scores 60 runs, he will score it in 20-22 balls. You have to give a longer rope to these guys.
“Today, he started slow but scored his fifty in just 20 balls. This shows the mindset that he has and what range of shots he possesses. He uses the long levers and plays big shots.”
I thought today he was methodical about his approach – Parthiv Patel on Abhishek Sharma
Parthiv Patel, who was also part of the discussions, said that Abhishek was methodical about his approach. He said that even though he had a few failures on his back he played with the same method and stuck to his method.
He added that usually with batters when there are low scores for batters, they tend to go in the shell, but Abhishek Sharma didn’t do that, and his mindset was the same.
“There was definitely a question mark on his place, given he did not have much form. But I thought today he was methodical about his approach. I thought the England bowlers missed a trick by not using bouncers early on against Abhishek Sharma. But that’s how he plays,”
“What I really like about Sharma is, though he did not have a string of scores, he stuck to his game plan. This is something that has worked for him in the IPL and when he played for India. He got a hundred against Zimbabwe. He has not changed his approach. As a batter, when you don’t get runs, you might go back into your shell and try to get a 30-40 and then change your batting approach. But I thought Abhishek Sharma did not do that, so that’s a good sign as far as his mindset is concerned.”
Also read: Shocking! Varun Chakravarthy gives a weird rating after heroics in the 1st IND vs ENG T20I
