Abhishek Sharma follows in mentor Yuvraj Singh’s footsteps, dazzles in Wankhede sixathon

Abhishek Sharma follows in mentor Yuvraj Singh’s footsteps, dazzles in Wankhede sixathon

On a windy Durban night in September 2007, Yuvraj Singh lit up the T20I world by smashing all six balls of a Stuart Broad over into the stands en route India’s fastest fifty (12 balls) in the shortest format. A little over a decade later, on a chilly night in Indore, Rohit Sharma tore a hapless Sri Lankan attack apart to notch up the fastest T20I hundred (35 balls) by an Indian, still the joint-fastest in T20Is involving Test-playing nations.

Cut to a pleasant Sunday night at the Wankhede Stadium, with Abhishek Sharma – a mentee of the first record-holder and surname-sake of the other – brought back memories of both memorable innings. He may have risen to second in terms of both the records – racing to a 17-ball fifty and then converting it into a 37-ball hundred in the series finale against England – but he created two more records that no other Indian had managed to do thus far.

No Indian batter had hit more than 10 sixes in an innings. Abhishek had 13 to his credit. And no Indian had overhauled the 130-run mark in a T20I innings. The stylish southpaw did so, thus raising the highest individual score for an Indian batter in T20Is.

Such was his onslaught that let alone the England bowlers, even the visiting batters couldn’t recover as England was bundled out for a total that was considerably lower than Abhishek’s tally of 135 runs on the day.

Ever since he had a breakthrough Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2023, Abhishek has continued to be consistent time and again. While he thanked mentor Yuvraj for believing in him, in an age where young batters forget to put a price tag on their wicket, Abhishek remembered a little piece of advice he received from legendary Brian Lara in the Sunrisers Hyderabad dressing room.

“I practised a lot of match scenarios in open nets. Brian Lara had told me one thing – ‘just play your shots but make sure that you don’t get out’. So that is what I had in my mind. That helped me and I felt I could hit shots off the first or second ball as well,” Abhishek said after India wrapped up the series 4-1.

“When you are young, you don’t explore much, but I did that and realised I could play with more intent and help the team. When you do well, you get the support of your team. So I thought that when it is my day, I have to play this way – whether for Punjab or my franchise. Obviously when it comes to India, it’s a special and a big moment. I felt that if I have the ability, I should nourish it. There are ups and downs, but you need to be clear about playing this way,” he said.

Abhishek stressed that he was delighted with the manner in which he “used the pace of the ball” to clear the fence with panache. If Abhishek continues in the same vein, it will definitely not be long before either Yuvraj’s or Rohit’s record is under threat – if not broken – in near future.