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Abhishek Sharma credited skipper Suryakumar Yadav and Head Coach Gautam Gambhir for their support, helping him regain form. He scored a 34-ball-79 to help India chase 133 runs against South Africa.
Abhishek Sharma struck a 34-ball-79 to help India complete the chase of 133 runs in quick time. (Image: Sportzpics)
India’s opening batter, Abhishek Sharma credited the skipper, Suryakumar Yadav and the Head Coach, Gautam Gambhir for giving him the support he needed to help overturn his lack of runs in recent games.
The 24-year-old was under a bit of pressure till the penultimate T20I against South Africa, with questions asked on whether he can crack the international T20 stage. But those concerns were put to rest as he is in fine form in the past three matches. He scored a fifty in Centurion, followed by a quickfire 26 and now another fifty in Kolkata.
The young southpaw struck a 34-ball-79 to help India complete the chase of 133 runs in quick time. But before the series opener, questions were asked of the opener and whether he would keep his place at the top of the order.
In the post-match press conference, Abhishek mentioned how the captain and the coach’s backing meant a lot and how their management helped keep his confidence, resulting in a match-winning knock.
“I think obviously, as a batsman it comes into your head if you are not performing for 4-5 games. But I had mentioned earlier that the coach and the captain managed the players even though I didn’t do too well,” Abhishek shared.
“They maintained their confidence in me by saying that they believed in me winning games for the team and have belief in yourself,” he added.
His plan involved going back to what made him successful in the IPL. This included hanging back in the crease and using the pace from the likes of Mark Wood and Jofra Archer.
“My plan was simple, play like I played in IPL, I practised my trigger movements before the match, I knew they (England bowlers) would bowl short and check my patience. I executed my plans very well,” he commented.
India’s bowling certainly made the batters’ lives easier. Arshdeep Singh set the tone with two wickets in the powerplay followed by Varun Charavarthy’s wickets after the first six overs to help restrict England to a low total.
Abhishek will hope to continue his rich vein of form in the remaining T20Is in the ongoing series. The Indian team is set to play the second T20I at the M.A Chidambaram Stadium, where he could face a tough test should the visitors deploy a spin-heavy attack.
(with PTI Inputs)
