Abhishek Sharma is an affable young man. You wouldn’t think that, seeing how much violence he subjects the hapless cricket ball to. But take the bat out of his hand, and all you will see is a fun-loving youngster who hardly has an angry bone in his body.
On Sunday at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, a largely unseen version of Abhishek surfaced, in the T20 Asia Cup Super Four contest against Pakistan. His evening started poorly; off the third ball of the match, he put down a straightforward catch with Pakistan yet to register a run. Sahibzada Farhan, the right-handed opener who has taken a shine over the last week to Jasprit Bumrah, charged Hardik Pandya and attempted a booming drive down the ground, only for the ball to skew off the outer half of the bat and fly towards third man.
Abhishek was a little slow to react and therefore a little late in getting to the ball, but having got his hands under it, he allowed it to burst through his hands. It was an uncharacteristic but costly lapse; Farhan went on to punish that mistake with a fluent half-century, every run he scored a body blow to Abhishek.
Needled, riled, and relentless: Abhishek Sharma’s masterclass against Pakistan
For three matches in a row, Abhishek had led India’s charge with the bat, but the big one remained elusive; thrice, he got himself out in the 30s. He knew, more than anyone else, that with Pakistan having posted 171 and he having played a part in that eventuality, he owed his team a few. More than a few, actually.
In his brief T20 International career – this was only his 21st match – Abhishek has made it a habit of banishing the first ball of an over out of his sight. His strike rate off that specific delivery is in the range of 250 and it was no surprise that he kicked off India’s chase by hopping across his stumps and pulling Shaheen Shah Afridi for a six.
It was the start of a carnage that was exhilarating unless you were a Pakistani player or a supporter. Shubman Gill, Abhishek’s friend from their Under-14 days, sailed along beautifully, showcasing the touch that had netted him 754 glorious Test runs in England, but as subliminal as his batting was, it was Abhishek’s incandescence that stood out.
Last Sunday’s Group A fixture, and the first half of this Super Four clash, saw little interaction between players of the two teams. But in the very first over of the Indian chase, the needle between Gill and Afridi was obvious. Abhishek didn’t get immediately involved, but when Haris Rauf came on to bowl and started to use his lip, the 25-year-old grew fangs.
One isn’t sure what was said – Rauf did the initial talking – but whatever it was riled up the Indian openers. Gill wasn’t standing down, but Abhishek was even more aggressive. Twice, he and Rauf snarled at each other; things came to a head when Gill dismissed the last ball of Rauf’s first ball through mid-wicket with a signature short-arm jab through mid-wicket that screamed to the fence.
Rauf let go and Abhishek whirled around in the bowler’s direction with a sharp retort as the players got to within millimetres of each other. Given how studiously the Indian players have avoided even eye contact with their Pakistani counterparts, this was a dramatic break from recent norm. Neither Rauf nor Abhishek backed down. With things threatening to get out of hand, Bangladeshi umpire Gazi Sohel stepped in with alacrity to defuse a potentially explosive situation.
Generally, there is only one winner when a batter and a bowler get involved in heated exchanges. The batter might hit five boundaries, but a bowler can still have the last say. To Abhishek’s credit, he didn’t allow that incident to trigger red mist; by the same token, Rauf raised his bowling a few notches, bouncing back from a 12-run first over to finish with impressive figures of two for 26.
Keeping his wits about him and refusing to compromise on his aggressive designs, Abhishek blasted to a 24-ball 50, celebrating with gusto but without going over the top. The half-century, he knew, was just a mini milestone, there still was work to be done. He kicked on to 74 when he was caught in the deep, looking for a sixth six. By then, he had hauled India to within 49 of the target, eventually hunted down with ease.
The redemption song was sung, Abhishek going from first-over villain to hero of the night, bossing the cricketing and the verbal exchanges and ending the night with a message on X that screamed: ‘You talk, we win’. And yes, Abhishek Sharma remains an affable young man.
