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England skipper, Jos Buttler had nothing but praise for Abhishek Sharma who struck 135 off 54 deliveries in the 5th T20I at Mumbai.
Abhishek Sharma went on to score 135 off 54 deliveries in the 5th T20I against England. (Image: Sportzpics)
Following the defeat against India in the fifth T20I that took place in Mumbai on Sunday, England skipper Jos Buttler heaped massive praise on the Indian opening batter, Abhishek Sharma who struck a record-breaking 135 off 54 deliveries, aiding the hosts to secure victory by 150 runs.
The 24-year-old created history at the Wankhede Stadium as his knock set a new record for the highest individual score by an Indian batter in T20 internationals. Buttler expressed his disappointment but credited Abhishek’s batting performance following the match.
“Yeah, (we are) disappointed (with the result), they (India) played a fantastic batting innings. I think credit to Abhishek Sharma, I thought that’s as clean a ball striking as I’ve seen, I thought he played fantastically well,” Buttler said when speaking to the media.
The England captain reckons that they did try to curb his performance but it ended up being a day for the Indian batting star who delivered one of his best performances to date.
“We always sit down and think what more could we have done or how we could have stopped him, but some days I think you have to give a lot of credit to the opposition, I thought he played brilliantly well,” Buttler said.
He reflected on his IPL season from last year where Abhishek gave the Sunrisers Hyderabad a lethal opening pair alongside Travis Head. Butter suggested that there were plans in place to get rid of Abhishek but it was not meant to be for the visitors.
“Shellshocked’s not quite the word, I think. It can be difficult sometimes when a player gets on a roll and they play as well as he did. Looking back at the last IPL, he and Travis Head were the same at the top of the order for Sunrisers (Hyderabad) and he’s brought that into India,” he shared.
“He (Abhishek) played a brilliant innings and sometimes you want to credit the opposition. You always think of what more could you do, how could we get him out, how could we slow him down and, but yeah, credit to us for, you know, sticking in there and fighting back and keeping them down to 240 after the start they got,” Buttler added.
With India winning the five-match T20I series 4-1, the focus will now shift to the three-match 50-over series. Senior stars like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and others will be back in the setup when they prepare for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025. Buttler will be keen on getting his combinations right as they will also look to get their side in good touch ahead of the returning ICC tournament.
