Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has heaped praise on Abhishek Sharma after his blistering knock in the opening T20I against England at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Wednesday. The home team registered a comprehensive seven-wicket win to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
While chasing a below-par score of 133, Abhishek scored a whirlwind knock of 79 runs off just 34 balls. The southpaw brought his second T20I fifty off just 20 balls as he took the attack against the England bowlers.
The left-hander smashed five fours and eight maximums in his blitzkrieg knock and thus scored 68 runs in boundaries. The youngster also had the rub of the green on his side as he was dropped by Adil Rashid on 29.
“Abhishek Sharma – we believe in karma, we believe in Sharma. We used to say that for Rohit. It’s too early to say the same thing for Abhishek but he has done the Abhishek (made an auspicious start). I thought it was an important innings,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
The renowned commentator noted that there was pressure on Abhishek as he hadn’t scored runs consistently.
“Abhishek Sharma was under pressure because he had been playing but hadn’t scored too many runs. This team’s template is to hit fours and sixes and maximize the powerplay, but if you get out three times, they only drop you. They could have looked at Yashasvi. He could have played this series and nobody would have raised an eyebrow or batted an eyelid,” he observed.
Chopra highlighted that the SRH batter scored his runs against a quality English bowling attack.
“The opposing team had proper bowling – Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Gus Atkinson and Jamie Overton. It’s a good bowling attack. In such a scenario, you had to play well to score runs. He batted really well right from the start. He flicked Mark Wood for a six, then a six over third man and a straight four,” he said.
The former Delhi player feels Sharma’s 79-run knock is better than his century against Zimbabwe.
“Then he batted very well against spin also. He kept hitting. He has scored a T20I century against Zimbabwe and it’s very difficult to say that a knock could be better than that. You can say that about this knock because of the context as there was a lot of pressure and the contest as the opposition bowling was very good,” Chopra reasoned.
The second T20I between India and England will be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Saturday.
