Team India played the third T20I match of the series against New Zealand at the Hnry Stadium in Wellington on Tuesday to post a six-wicket win.
In this match, star Indian batter Abhishek Sharma played a crucial knock for India to seal the third consecutive game to register the victory over the Blackcaps in the T20I series.
The Indian team got the 199-run target from the hosts in this important clash. Abhishek Sharma and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi opened the innings for Team India and delivered a remarkable performance for the men in blue. Both opening batters displayed an attacking approach to achieve this target easily.
Abhishek Sharma showcased his ruthless side to New Zealand’s bowling lineup in this game. Abhishek Sharma scored 113 runs off 38 balls. In his knock, he smashed 9 fours and 11 sixes at a strike rate of 297.37. Meanwhile, his opening partner Vaibhav Sooryavanshi missed his fifty as he was able to score 45 runs off 19 balls, including 4 fours and 4 sixes.
Speaking about his impressive batting performance in the third T20I clash, which he replied, “I think the key was pretty simple. It was just me and Vaibhav, just going to enjoy there for a bit, especially in the powerplay. And especially when we were fielding, we were observing the pitch a bit because of this extra bounce. But I feel the dimensions of the ground, we could use the powerplay, and we could use their pace as well. So that was the easy plan.”
Abhishek Sharma also backed the support staff and opened up about his preparation. “I feel it’s not that, I wouldn’t say it’s that easy, but it’s just the preparation behind the scenes. Special mention to our coaches because of the sidearms; we’ve been playing them a lot.”
“Preparation is really important as a batter. If you see the conditions and the dimensions, that’s always in your mind, and then you have to keep the bowlers also in your mind and play the shots according to the bowlers. And that’s all I do. We had a good practice session yesterday, and I just wanted to utilise it, and that’s what I did. And I feel I pretty much manifested this innings, and it happened,” he added.
After the match, Abhishek Sharma’s mentor and former Indian star Yuvraj Singh had a cheeky post for Abhishek on his social media. In the post, Yuvraj asked Abhishek to break his India record for the fastest T20I fifty, which came off just 12 balls against England in the T20 World Cup 2007.
“You still can’t get 50 off 12, can you, Abhishek Sharma! Looks like two left-handers batting in their backyard!” Yuvraj wrote on X.