Abhishek Sharma has firmly established himself as a cricketing sensation, leading India to a T20 World Cup victory in Barbados last June. Last week, Sharma offered another testament to his prowess by scoring an electrifying 135 runs in the decisive fifth T20 against England. This performance not only sealed India's commanding win but also left spectators and legends of the game in awe of his extraordinary talent.
In the match against England, Sharma made history by reaching his half-century in just 17 deliveries, marking it as the second-fastest fifty by an Indian player. It trails only behind Yuvraj Singh's legendary 12-ball fifty against England in 2007. Sharma continued his onslaught to notch up a century in just 37 balls, placing it among the fastest hundreds recorded between Test-playing nations. During this innings, he hit 13 sixes against England's formidable pace and spin attack, showcasing a mixture of brutal power and finesse.
The young cricketer's exploits have drawn comparisons with Yuvraj Singh, a legendary left-hander with whom Sharma shares a deep connection from their days playing first-class cricket for Punjab. Yuvraj has expressed seeing aspects of his own unfulfilled potential in Sharma, whose batting style—characterized by a big backlift and fluid bat flow—evokes memories of Yuvraj's prime.
"That's where I want to see you." – Yuvraj Singh
Sharma's journey to stardom began with a promising debut against Zimbabwe in July, following India's World Cup triumph. He hit a century in the second match of that series, further cementing his place in the team. His IPL performance in 2023 was noteworthy, scoring 484 runs without playing an innings longer than 29 balls. Under the guidance of Sunrisers Hyderabad's batting coach Brian Lara, Sharma achieved an impressive strike rate of 204.21 across 16 matches.
His recent innings against England received high praise from cricketing greats. Former England captain Sir Alastair Cook described it as an "extraordinary" display of hitting.
"He mis-hit one ball. There was no turn of the bat. Everything was so clean." – Sir Alastair Cook
"A beautiful bat swing. Absolutely extraordinary." – Sir Alastair Cook
England's Jos Buttler also lauded Sharma's performance, acknowledging the brilliance of his ball striking.
"I've played quite a lot of cricket and credit to Abhishek Sharma, that ball striking was as clean as I've seen," – Jos Buttler
Buttler admitted that despite their best efforts, Sharma's performance was too formidable to contain.
"You always sit down and think what more we could've done or how we could've stopped him, but I think some days you have to give a lot of credit to the opposition – he played brilliantly well." – Jos Buttler
Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen described Sharma's innings as "one of the great T20 innings," highlighting the quality of England's bowling attack which included Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, and Adil Rashid.
"That was one of the great T20 innings," – Kevin Pietersen
"It's a very good bowling attack – [Mark] Wood, [Jofra] Archer and Adil Rashid." – Kevin Pietersen
Steven Finn echoed these sentiments, admiring the elegance and effectiveness of Sharma's hitting.
"It was quite a ridiculous show of hitting. It was absolutely beautiful. He has not looked to overhit." – Steven Finn
Prakash Wakankar, another respected voice in cricket commentary, noted the Yuvi-esque elements in Sharma's technique.
"He gives it the full swing when he plays either side of the wicket and has a good flick when he gets inside the line of the ball." – Prakash Wakankar
"A very welcome change is to see more and more of that Yuvi-esque full face and flow of the bat." – Prakash Wakankar
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