India’s Abhishek Sharma expressed gratitude to captain Suryakumar Yadav and teammates Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel for their support in his stunning century during the final T20I against England in Mumbai. Playing just his 17th T20I, the young batter notched up his second century in the format.
Abhishek reached the milestone in just 37 balls, making him the second-fastest Indian to a T20I hundred, trailing only Rohit Sharma (35 balls). After racing to 93 in 31 deliveries, the 24-year-old needed six more balls to complete his century.
Reflecting on his achievement post-match, Abhishek credited Surya and Hardik for their guidance in helping him reach the landmark.
“I would tell you the truth. When Surya paaji (Suryakumar Yadav) got out, he told me to get the hundred first. He said that these moments do not come often. At that time, Adil Rashid and the pacers were bowling, who I had already scored off.”
“But he told me strictly that these moments will not come often and asked me to take some time to reach the century. “After that, Hardik (Pandya) paaji came and said the same thing. He said that ‘you have hit a lot of shots, don’t get adventurous now,” he said [via India Today].
Abhishek further added:
“Then Axar (Patel) paaji came and said the same thing. The three seniors took me aside and said this and that took me out of the zone, where I just wanted to react to the ball and play my shots. But those three controlled me and it happened.”
“This is the best T20 century I’ve ever seen”- Gautam Gambhir
India’s head coach, Gautam Gambhir, hailed Abhishek Sharma’s century in the fifth T20I against England as the finest he had witnessed in the format. The left-hander took apart a strong English bowling attack, smashing seven fours and a staggering 13 sixes to propel India to a formidable total of 247/9 in 20 overs.
Speaking to the broadcasters after the match, Gambhir shared his thoughts on Abhishek’s innings, as quoted by NDTV:
“We are going to do this going forward, got to play fearless cricket. And We want to keep backing players like Abhishek Sharma. We have to be patient to with these boys. Most of these boys believe in the ideology of playing fearless cricket. I haven’t seen a better T20 hundred (Abhishek’s ton) against bowlers who are bowling at 140-150 kph consistently.”
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