Young opener Abhishek Sharma’s exceptional knock in the fifth T20I between India and England in Mumbai has earned him loads of praise from the cricketing fraternity. Abhishek’s knock was also hailed by the wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul.
Rahul took to social media and praised Abhishek for playing an innings for the ages. The left-hander played a blinder as he smashed 135 runs off just 54 deliveries. He struck 7 fours and 13 sixes during his knock.
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KL Rahul heaps praise on Abhishek Sharma
KL Rahul posted an Instagram story and praised Abhishek Sharma for a knock that caught a lot of eyeballs. Abhishek was absolutely sensational during his innings as he showed why he is rated so highly in Indian cricket.
“The best T20 innings I have watched. Unreal hitting,” Rahul posted on his story.
Instagram story of KL Rahul for Abhishek Sharma. 🔥
– “The best T20 innings I have watched”. pic.twitter.com/3MmhfzjXdR
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) February 2, 2025
It wasn’t just KL Rahul who was in awe of this knock. Earlier, England great Kevin Pietersen also termed this as the best-ever T20 knock. Even India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir agreed with Pietersen’s sentiments labelling this as the best-ever knock in the format.
Abhishek Sharma’s knock for the ages
It was a night to remember for Abhishek Sharma who showed his class and devastating ability to entertain a sell-out crowd at the Wankhede Stadium. Abhishek wasn’t afraid of the high pace from England’s fast bowlers Jofra Archer and Mark Wood and used his feet brilliantly.
He attacked all the bowlers from the start and didn’t bother to stop even after the wicket of Sanju Samson. He completely dominated England’s bowlers whether it was the fast bowler or the spinner.
The 24-year-old Punjab batter didn’t play any reverse sweeps or scoops and relied on a good bat flow to play traditional shots. Adil Rashid, who has been brilliant in the middle overs this series, was also taken to the cleaners by Abhishek’s belligerent hitting.
He played shots all around the ground as England’s bowlers had no answers to his brilliance. He was finally dismissed in the last ball of the 18th over by Rashid as he mistimed a googly to the man at sweeper cover.
England bundled out cheaply
On the back of Abhishek Sharma’s outstanding knock, India scored a mammoth 247-9 in 20 overs. India’s next-best scorer on the day was Shivam Dube’s 30.
In reply, England were bundled out for a meager 97 in just over 10 overs. Wicketkeeper-opener Phil Salt struck a 23-ball-55 at the top to give his team a flying start.
But he didn’t receive any support from the other end as England’s batters kept losing their wickets in an attempt to score quick runs. Mohammed Shami picked up three wickets for India while Varun Chakravarthy, Shivam Dube, and Abhishek Sharma chipped in with two wickets each.
England fell 38 runs short of Abhishek’s score on the day which summed up their performance. Abhishek was adjudged the Player of the Match for his brilliance with bat and ball.
