New Delhi, Sep 13 (SocialNews.XYZ) Star left-handed opener Abhishek Sharma, whose explosive 32-ball 82 blew Afghanistan away in the T20I series opener at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, firmly reiterated that a brief lean patch will never shake India's aggressive batting ethos, stating that ‘one or two series won't define’ the side's fearless approach.
Abhishek's blistering 22-ball half-century laid the foundation for India's clinical seven-wicket win as the hosts made a mockery of a 157-run target, cruising home in just 13.4 overs. "Once you have decided, because I still remember two years back we decided we want to play in a certain way.
“We want to dominate all the teams throughout the whole year before the World Cup and things went pretty well for all the team, and especially for the batsmen as well. But I think one or two series won’t define our team as a batting unit, because the way we all think as a batting unit, it always makes a team first.
“So we always wanted to give that start as openers, especially wickets like this, if you’re chasing 150, 160, and you give an early start as openers, it always makes you on the winning side," said Abhishek after getting the Player of the Match award.
Before dismantling the Afghan attack with the bat, Abhishek set the tone on the field by plucking a sharp catch at slip off a returning Jasprit Bumrah in the opening over to send Rahmanullah Gurbaz back for a duck.
"I mean, getting a catch in the first over, that also in the slips, makes you a bit more confident. So that’s how we started the innings today. So I’m very happy with that," he added.
Giving a glimpse into what it takes to field behind Bumrah, Abhishek admitted that standing in the slips or even facing the ace speedster in practice demands absolute alertness.
"Even in T20 cricket, that’s likely to happen. I mean, of course, when we face him in the nets as well, it feels like we are playing first few overs of Test cricket against him. So it’s always very huge - we’re always on our toes for him in the slips as well," he added.
Source: IANS
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