Abhishek Sharma. Pic Credits: X

IND vs ENG : Abhishek Sharma’s Lightning 135 Runs Buries England & Bowlers Register A Jaw Dropping 150 Run Win For India

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Abhishek Sharma blazed a 37-ball hundred as India piled on the runs to beat England by 150 runs in the final match of the T20I series. Abhishek Sharma‘s total of 135 from 54 balls was the most ever made by an India batter in the format – and sealed a 4-1 series win for his side.

Abhishek Sharma’s  scored the  second-fastest century by an India batter of 37 balls, behind Rohit Sharma’s in 35 balls against Sri Lanka in Indore in 2017, with five fours and ten sixes. In fact, the 13 sixes he hit – before being removed by Adil Rashid, caught by Jofra Archer – were the most scored by an India batter in a T20 international. The 24-year-old’s 50 was also the second-fastest ever by an India batter, following his master  Yuvraj Singh’s 12 ball 50  against the same opposition in 2007. It comprised three fours and five sixes.

Abhishek Sharma was on a rampage scoring at a jaw-dropping strike rate of 250 against bowlers who were operating at a breakneck speed. Jofra Archer, Mark Wood Brydon Carse and Jamie Overton, all bowling over 145k mph, were looking for cover at the Wankhede on Sunday night.

Abhishek Sharma thrilled the Wankhede with a spectacular record-breaking century as India completely decimated England in the final T20I by a massive margin of 150 runs. Having already clinched the series, India’s batting might was in full flow with Abhishek Sharma leading the charge. India finished with 247/9 following the opener’s 54-ball 135 and in reply, England caved in to get bowled out for less than 100 despite Phil Salt’s sparkling half-century.

Pitch Report and Toss

Pitch report: A venue where boundary count is very high. 64m and 63n square boundaries respectively, 71m down the ground. It’s a red soil pitch. There are a few cracks but not much grass near the full length early. There’s some grass cover around the good length area, so there might be some movement for the pace bowlers. The pacers need to target the stumps. There hasn’t been much dew around, but electing to bowl first is a good option, reckons Nick Knight.

Toss : England skipper Jos Buttler won the toss and chose to bowl with one change in the playing XI with Mark Wood in for Pune hero Saqib Mahmood in the playing XI and an smirky yet eye raising comment that he has 4 impact subs in the playing XI. Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav who wanted to bat first made one change bringing in Mohammed Shami for Arshdeep Singh.

Abhishek Sharma’s milestone innings of 135 runs powers India to 247 for 9 in 20 overs

Batting first, Under a bit of pressure, Sanju Samson pulled the very first ball for a six after India were sent in and followed it up with another maximum four balls later. However, Mark Wood sent him packing in the next over as the opener hit a short-ball straight to deep square leg. That’s where the Abhishek Sharma show began.

He hammered Archer for a couple of sixes in the following over and meted out a similar treatment to Wood too. Jamie Overton was welcomed with successive sixes that helped Abhishek Sharma bring up his fifty off just 17 balls, the second-fastest by an Indian in the format, and Tilak Varma for his part contributed with a flurry of boundaries as India broke their record for the highest total (95) in the powerplay.

Any hopes England might have had to bring down the scoring rate post the powerplay were squashed in no time as Abhishek Sharma carves out two off Adil Rashid, followed by another couple off Liam Livingstone. Much to their relief, England then got rid of Varma and Suryakumar Yadav’s lean run continued.

India Batting Line Up. Pic Credits: ESPNcricinfo
India Batting Line Up. Pic Credits: ESPNcricinfo

However, India had already put up 143 at the halfway mark and England needed Abhishek Sharma’s wicket to further peg the hosts back. While Abhishek Sharma did take a backseat after bringing up his century off just 37 deliveries, it was now Shivam Dube’s turn to continue with the demolition job.

England’s ploy to tie him down with pace didn’t work as Dube fetched boundaries against Archer and Overton to race to 24 off just 9 at one point. England did stage a mini fightback at that point by bagging the wickets of Dube, Hardik Pandya and Rinku Singh in succession and that mini phase probably ensured India didn’t cross the 250-run mark.

England Bowling Line Up. Pic Credits: ESPNcricinfo
England Bowling Line Up. Pic Credits: ESPNcricinfo

But Abhishek Sharma caused enough damage at the death again, by adding to his sixes tally and eventually breaking the record for the most sixes (13) in a T20I innings by an Indian. Once he departed, the last two overs saw the hosts add only 10 runs but it proved to be way more than enough.

It was an all-round performance by India in the fifth and final T20I against England, which was dominated by an explosive display of batting from Abhishek Sharma. The left-handed opener crushed the English bowling attack, setting multiple records in the process. He not only led India to a massive total with an outstanding knock of 135 from just 54 balls but also etched his name into the record books.

Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma put on a second-wicket partnership of 115 runs from just 43 balls to give their side a commanding advantage at the innings break, with India reaching 247/9.

Mohammed Shami’s 3-fer and all round Abhishek Sharma’s 2-fer bowls out England for paltry 97 runs giving India a huge 150 runs win

Salt’s intentions were very clear as he came out all guns blazing in pursuit of 248. Mohammed Shami was treated to 4,4,6 on his return but came back strong with the wicket of Ben Duckett. England then raced to 48/1 after the first four overs but the real challenge was always going to be against spin. And on expected lines, it was spin that wrecked any remote chances they might have had as Varun Chakravarthy struck first ball to remove the dangerman Jos Buttler.

Harry Brook and Livingstone followed suit as Ravi Bishnoi and Chakravarthy absolutely killed the chase inside 6.1 overs even though Salt had raced to 48 off just 20 at that point. The opener then smashed Chakravarthy over deep midwicket to bring up his fifty off just 21 balls and Jacob Bethell showed signs of aggression with a hit over the fence in the same over.

Phil Salt was the sole England batter to put up any kind of resistance, hitting his own half-century from 21 balls before being caught by Dhruv Jurel from the bowling of Shivam Dube for 55.

England Batting Line Up. Pic Credits: ESPNcricinfo
England Batting Line Up. Pic Credits: ESPNcricinfo

Jacob Bethell was the only other England batter to make it into double figures, with 10 from seven balls. And Abhishek Sharma  also had a day to remember with the ball, taking two wickets in an over and removing Brydon Carse and Jamie Overton to reduce England to 90/7 after just nine overs.

However, in a matter of 2.1 overs, England went from 82/4 to 90/8. Those wickets came from the unlikeliest of sources as Dube and centurion Abhishek Sharma breezed through that batting lineup by bagging two wickets each. Shami then came back to put England out of their misery as the visitors crashed to 97 all out inside 11 overs. Jos Buttler’s side were all out for 97 in the 11th over, meaning it was India’s second-biggest win by a runs margin.

India Bowling Line Up. Pic Credits: ESPNcricinfo
India Bowling Line Up. Pic Credits: ESPNcricinfo

Riding on Abhishek Sharma’s blistering 135 India posted a humongous total of 247/9 on the board. In reply, barring Phil Salt, England batters faltered badly and were folded for just 97 runs, to lose the match by 150 runs. Notably it was England’s biggest defeat in T20Is so far and India’s second biggest victory in the shortest format of the game.

Also it was India’s biggest victory, by runs, against England in T20Is. This win surpassed India’s previous best against England, a 90-run victory in a Men’s T20 World Cup match at the RPS in Colombo back in 2012.

Presentations and Road Ahead

Suryakumar Yadav the winning IND skipper said : It’s always about being a little instinctive on the ground. Whoever you feel can make a difference, just throw the ball to them. These guys work really hard in the nets – keep practicing what they want to deliver in the game. And whenever I need them, they’re always there on the ground. This is what we sat down and spoke about – what brand of cricket we want to play, and we’re sticking to it.

It’s a high risk, high reward game, but at the end of the day what’s working for us, we’re doing that. It’s good to see someone at the top batting like that. I’m very happy for his family as well. Must’ve enjoyed his innings. It was great. He’s one guy who’s been relentlessly working hard with our fielding coach (talking about Chakravarthy). Anywhere he gets an opportunity, he uses that time on the field during practice sessions.

It was good to see him putting his hand up and telling that I want to field in the outfield today. And you saw the results. His bowling – I’ve always said that he’s a process-oriented man. Works really hard in the nets. Always up for learning something new, and you can see the results.

That’s one thing you do together on the field. You can create the extra energy. Irrespective of what you’ve done in your batting or bowling, that’s one thing I demand. And they never disappoint.

Jos Buttler the losing ENG skipper said : We’re disappointed to lose the series. We’ve done some things well, and some things to improve on. India are a fantastic side, especially at home. Our guys will be better for the experience. Some of the bowling performances – even today, Brydon Carse and Mark Wood were outstanding.

Abhishek Sharma – I’ve seen a lot of cricket and that was as good a batting I’ve seen in T20 today. Obviously a great guy to welcome back into the squad (Root). One of the best players in the world. Look forward to the ODIs. It’s getting closer and closer to T20s, isn’t it Going to be a great series against a top side.

Abhishek Sharma Player of the Match for his all round show 135 runs 2 wickets and a catch said : It’s a special one. Coming for the country, it’s always a great feeling. I’ve told this before as well. When I see it’s my day, I always try to go from the first ball. The way the coach and captain have treated me from the first day, they always wanted this intent and always backed me – that was a special thing for me.

When the opponents are bowling 140-150 plus, you have to be ready a second before anyone else. Just wanted to react to the ball and play my shots. When you’re hitting a world-class bowler over cover (his shot off Archer), it’s always a special shot. The sixes off Rashid were also special for me.

Yes, remember that (the straight drive). That was the special shot which Yuvi paaji mentioned last day. He should be happy after this. He always wanted me to bat till 15-20 overs. Even Gauti paaji wanted the same thing. So I think today was my day and I implemented well.

Varun Chakravarthy Player of the Series for 14 wickets in 5 matches said : Happy that the fielding also drew some applause. The team has been emphasizing on improving the fielding standards, and I have been working with our fielding coach. It is paying off. This is the best I have bowled, but there’s a lot of scope to improve.

There were a few close balls – I shouldn’t have bowled that. I didn’t take them for granted – they’re a top side. It was about bowling the right ball at the right time. I was working on that. This is special, I would like to dedicate it to my son and my wife, and my parents also. Would like to thank Surya and GG for backing me.

Abhishek Sharma’s explosive century guided India to a colossal 150-run win over England in the fifth and final T20I at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on February 2, Sunday.

England captain Jos Buttler won the toss and elected to field first.  India’s openers, Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma, began aggressively, making their intentions clear from the very first over, taking 16 runs off Jofra Archer.  However, India suffered an early setback when Samson was dismissed for just 16 runs.  Following Samson’s dismissal, Tilak Varma joined Abhishek at the crease.  The pair took control of the innings and helped India reach the 50-run mark in the fourth over.Abhishek Sharma then reached his half-century in a mere 17 balls, smashing three fours and five sixes. This was the fifth-fastest T20I fifty ever and the second-fastest by an Indian, following Yuvraj Singh’s iconic performance in the 2007 T20 World Cup.  India reached the 100-run mark in the seventh over.

In the ninth over, Tilak Varma was dismissed by Brydon Carse for 24, with the team total at 136.  Carse struck again in the 11th over, removing captain Suryakumar Yadav for just two runs.  India reached 150 runs in the 12th over.  Shivam Dube was the next to fall, dismissed by Brydon Carse for 30 runs in the 14th over.

India crossed the 200-run mark in the 16th over.  In the 18th over, Abhishek Sharma’s magnificent innings came to an end when he was dismissed by Adil Rashid for 135, with the team score at 237. Despite the regular loss of wickets, India managed to post a formidable total of 247 runs for the loss of nine wickets in their 20 overs. For England, Brydon Carse was the most successful bowler, taking three wickets. Mark Wood grabbed two wickets, while Jofra Archer, Jamie Overton, and Adil Rashid each claimed one wicket.Phil Salt was the sole performer for England as he cracked a 21-ball half-century before being dismissed for 55, caught by Dhruv Jurel off Shivam Dube’s bowling. Besides Phil Salt, only Jacob Bethell managed to reach double figures for England, scoring 10 runs off seven balls. Abhishek Sharma’s contributions weren’t limited to his batting prowess; he also had a big impact with the ball, taking two wickets in one over.

His dismissals of Brydon Carse and Jamie Overton further compounded England’s woes, leaving them in a precarious position at 90/7 after just nine overs. England’s innings eventually came to a close in the 11th over, with a total score of just 97 runs. Mohammed Shami chipped in with a brilliant three-fer while Shivam Dube and Varun Chakravarthy too contributed with two wickets each.

As emphatic as it gets from India who win by 150 runs in the fifth and final T20I to seal the series 4-1. After a sensational knock by Abhishek Sharma earlier in the evening, they came out and bundled England out for just 97 on a belter of a pitch.

Phil Salt hammered a 21-ball fifty, but none of the other batters got going at all with Chakravarthy and Bishnoi removing the cream of their batting once more. To top it off, Shivam Dube showed that he isn’t too bad with the ball either as he got rid of Salt with his very first delivery before Shami came back and wrapped up the lower-order in no time.

The World Champions continue their stunning run in T20 cricket which has seen them win 29 of their last 32 matches. They’re playing aggressive cricket with the bat, and their spinners, led by Varun Chakravarthy, are bamboozling opposition lineups with regularity. England had their moments in a couple of games but couldn’t grab them. They made too many mistakes which you just can’t afford against such a formidable force and paid for it by way of a 4-1 series defeat. Next up will be three ODIs, starting with the first one in Nagpur on Thursday.

Also Read: IND vs ENG: “Side Arm Specialists In India Need To Work Hard To Prepare Batters For Tough Times”- Abhishek Jain Gives His Invaluable Insights

 


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