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Abhishek Sharma’s all-round performance led India to their biggest T20I win over England. He scored 135 off 54 balls, helping India to 247/9, and took two wickets as England were bowled out for 97.
Abhishek Sharma embraces his captain Suryakumar Yadav. (Sportzpics Photo)
A record-smashing all-round performance from Abhishek Sharma led India to their biggest win over England in T20Is in terms of runs to entertain a star-studded Wankhede crowd in Mumbai on Sunday.
The left-handed opener scored a rollicking 54-ball 135 in the first innings to help India to 247/9 in the 20 overs, the fourth-highest score for the country in the format, and then took two wickets in the second as England were bowled out for a paltry 97. The -run win beat the previous best margin of 90 runs against England from 2012 in Colombo and was the second-highest for the country overall.
Asked to bat first, a fired-up Abhishek unleashed seven boundaries and 13 sixes en route to 135 (54 balls) as he scored the second-fastest T20I century by an Indian batter off 37 balls to help the hosts amass 247 for 9.
Indian bowlers Mohammed Shami (3/25), Varun Chakravarthy (2/25), Shivam Dube (2/11) and Abhishek Sharma (2/3) then stifled the England batters, managing to dismiss them for 97 runs with 9.3 overs to spare.
Abhishek missed equalling Rohit Sharma’s record of being the fastest Indian to score a T20I ton by just two balls. Rohit had hit a 35-ball T20I century for India against Sri Lanka in 2017.
Abhishek also scored a 17-ball half-century, which was the second fastest by an India, when he hit Jamie Overton for a massive six in the fifth over.
He also shared a 115-run second-wicket partnership with Tilak Varma (24).
Brief Scores: India 247 for 9 in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 135, Tilak Varma 24, Shivam Dube 30; Brydon Carse 3/38, Mark Wood 2/32).
England 97 all out in 10.3 overs (Phil Salt 55; Mohammed Shami 3/25, Varun Chakravarthy 2/25, Shivam Dube 2/11, Abhishek Sharma 2/3).
(With inputs from PTI)
