During the third match of the South Africa series on December 14, 2025 at the beautiful HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala, Indian batsman Abhishek Sharma dazzled the crowd with his amazing performance. He hit a blistering 35 runs from just 18 balls and set the stage for a comfortable 7-wicket win for India and a 2-1 match lead for India. Eventually, Sharma fell victim to a brilliant catch by South African player Aiden Markram. Nevertheless, his fireworks against the South African bowling attack put India in control early.
Abhishek Sharma Scoring Areas
Abhishek Sharma’s powerful and precise hitting technique allowed him to capture the moment’s intensity early on, beginning with the first ball he faced from Lungi Ngidi by depositing a flicked six over fine leg along with a followed-up four to fine leg.
In addition, he used his strength and timing efficiently against short wide balls from Ngidi and Ottneil Baartman by slapping a boundary to the covers and elegantly lifting another six into the air over deep cover during the same over.
In addition, he shouldered his way through both backward point and third man by slicing and edging deliveries up to those areas, resulting in a chance for a fortunate four and then a gigantic six from Baartman.
Abhishek’s ability to pull short-pitched balls effectively was evident, but one mistimed pull resulted in his dismissal.
He was able to establish the fastest fifty for India in the powerplay with his three fours and three sixes, including a maximum attempt off the first ball of the innings and a swooping six that brought up India’s 50 mark in only 4.1 overs. Thus, Abhishek’s dependable ability and growing ability to find gaps and set balls in the air made the small total look like an easy victory in the powerplay.
Abhishek Sharma Vs Proteas Bowlers
Abhishek dismissed the South African pace attack’s heavy reliance on pace and ignored their inconsistencies in terms of line and length:
Vs Lungi Ngidi: 16 runs scored in 1st over with 1 six down the leg side, 1 four along the ground between cover and mid-wicket and 1 leg-by.
Vs Marco Jansen: Able to get boundary hits easily (mainly intended for fine leg) then lofted 6’s over deep cover despite some swing.
Vs Ottneil Baartman: Hit a half volley off the edge for a 6, cut down off the deck for a four but quickly scored over 50 runs.
Vs Corbin Bosch: Eventually dismissed (after taking a top edge) but had already made a fair amount of runs.
The South African bowlers struggled to get the new ball to bend on their seam-friendly pitch as they consistently bowled too wide and delivered a number of short bouncers which Abhishek punished. Other than Bosch’s wicket, this was a good day for Abhishek.
Partnership
Under Vice Captain Shubman Gill, Abhishek put together a quick opening partnership, with a combined score of 60 within the first 5.2 overs. Although Gill played more conservatively than his partner, the explosive innings of Abhishek resulted in India’s total being 68 for 1 after the power play, all but concluding the match. The rest of the innings was just 50 runs needed to win, so with this base the middle order had an easy finish after a small hiccup. Abhishek also added to Dharamsala’s great crowd by being a part of this unique win over a formidable South Africa cricket team.
Stats
Indian batters hitting first ball of a T20I innings for a six
Rohit Sharma off Adil Rashid, Ahmedabad, 2021
Yashasvi Jaiswal off Sikandar Raza, Harare, 2024
Sanju Samson off Jofra Archer Wankhede, 2025
Abhishek Sharma off Haider Ali, Dubai, 2025
Abhishek Sharma off Shaheen Afridi, Dubai, 2025
Abhishek Sharma off Lungi Ngidi, Dharamsala, 2025*
Also Read:Â IND vs SA: Indian Bowlers Hunt In Packs In 3rd T20I