Abhishek Sharma has been Indian T20 batting’s brightest spot – his consistency unflailing, and his impact on wins humongous. He’s almost been as rock steady as Jasprit Bumrah as bowler through India’s numerous ups and downs. He is averaging 35 over 1080 runs, striking at 188, and above 40 when batting first. When chasing it’s 29 striking at 192, and always with a SR of 190+ in India wins. But even the most dependable batsman cannot do it all alone, and India has had to derive contributions from others to allow Sharma to do his thing.
Father Rajkumar Sharma was ecstatic after his 18-ball 35 with 3 sixes (at 194 SR) helped India go past the South African target at Dharamshala and score an emphatic win. But Sharma Sr said enough credit ought to be given to teammate Arshdeep Singh, who took 2-13, with a miserly economy of 3.25 to restrict South Africa. Arshdeep crucially snared Reeza Hendricks and Aiden Markram, the lowest and highest among SA scorers.
ALSO READ | Intelligence, skill, and heart: How Arshdeep Singh took out Reeza Hendricks to make stunning comeback
The Sharma family had travelled to Dharamshala from Mullanpur where the stinging loss had hurt Indians after SA went past 200. Abhishek’s mother while saying the whole family had enjoyed watching India bounce back, said they had made amends for the last loss. “Bada achha lagaa. Peechhli qasar nikal gayi,” Manju, the mother, said. (India played well. They made up for the last defeat).
She expressed hope that the momentum offered by the win in the third T20, would properly then further. “Do match reh gaye. Woh bhi jeetenge. Toh phir series apni,” she told ANI. Just two matches left. Those also we will win. Then the series is ours.)
She too added that India struck early blows to wrest initiative. “Shuru se hi ho gayaa thaa…” (Indian bowlers gave aindia a good start). She lauded the contribution of the whole team in helping them win. “Accha khelenge toh easy rahega. Sabhine achha perform kiya. Jeetna toh tha,” she told ANI. (It becomes easier when everyone chips in. Today all performed well. So it was obvious we would win.)
India next play at Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana stadium in Lucknow on Wednesday, followed by the last game in Ahmedabad.
Stay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.
