Last Updated on 2 months by Charbel Coorey
There aren’t many better sights in T20 cricket than when Abhishek Sharma gets going. His latest exploits – a magnificent 54-ball 135 at the Wankhede – made a mockery of an England side that aspires to perform well at the T20 World Cup in India in a year’s time.
Abhishek’s second T20I century won’t be his last if he keeps batting like this. As one of the centrepoints of India’s all guns blazing approach, the left-hander went on a rampage, smashing the most sixes in a single innings by an Indian (13) and finishing with a strike rate of 250.
On the way, the opener blazed India’s second-fastest T20I century off 37 balls, only behind Rohit Sharma’s 35-ball innings against Sri Lanka in 2017. Also, his 135 is India’s highest-ever individual score in men’s T20Is, beating Shubman Gill’s 126* against New Zealand two years ago.
Abhishek Sharma scored 38 more runs than the entire England team did. Despite an excellent onslaught by Phil Salt, the visitors lasted just 10.3 overs, bowled out for 97 to lose by their biggest-ever margin in T20Is.
Reactions: Abhishek Sharma & India hammer England at the Wankhede
The fourth T20I was controversial with the concussion rule a major topic. The fifth was not even a contest. England tried to recover after India ran rampant, but they were never in the game.
Man of the series Varun Chakravarthy made an immediate impact with the ball as the wickets were shared right around. Abhishek Sharma himself took two wickets in an over to complete a dream night, while Shivam Dube (2/11) also had an excellent outing.
“Well played @IamAbhiSharma4! That’s where I want to see you! Proud of you,” tweeted former cricketer and Abhishek’s mentor Yuvraj Singh. Here are some reactions to India’s huge win.
