Abhishek Sharma Turns Delhi Chase Into One-Man Show

News Desk

New Delhi: From the balcony of Afghanistan’s dressing room at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium, Varun Chakaravarthy had a familiar view on Sunday: Abhishek Sharma dismantling a bowling attack before it could figure out what had happened.

For Afghanistan’s bowlers, it was a nightmare. For India, it was the kind of innings that reminded everyone why the team had continued to back the young opener despite a prolonged struggle for runs.

Chasing 157 in the opening T20I of the three-match series, India needed only 14.5 overs to reach the target. Abhishek contributed 82 from just 32 balls, striking seven sixes and seven fours in an assault that transformed what could have been a routine chase into a breathtaking exhibition of power hitting.

The conditions in Delhi were hardly hostile to batting, and Afghanistan’s 156 was never an intimidating total. But Abhishek’s aggression made the target look even smaller.

He announced his intentions with his very first scoring shot, launching Fazalhaq Farooqi inside-out over cover for a stunning six. After India lost his opening partner early in the third over, Abhishek shifted into another gear.

Azmatullah Omarzai was immediately pulled into the line of fire. Abhishek first lofted him deep into the long-off stands before rocking back to pull a short delivery through square leg.

Farooqi suffered even more punishment. His fifth over disappeared for 26 runs as Abhishek attacked both pace and length, smashing a slower short ball for six before following it with a flat-batted boundary through the off side.

Afghanistan’s pace attack offered little surprise, and Abhishek showed no hesitation in exploiting it.

When captain Ibrahim Zadran turned to spin, the result was hardly different. Mohammad Nabi was struck for consecutive boundaries, taking India to 82 for one at the end of the Powerplay. Abhishek had already scored exactly 41 of those runs from only 15 deliveries.

Rashid Khan’s arrival brought no relief. Abhishek welcomed Afghanistan’s premier spinner with another elegant inside-out boundary over cover.

There was, however, more to the innings than reckless hitting.

Against Noor Ahmad, Abhishek occasionally showed the restraint required to underline just how calculated his aggression was. A couple of quality deliveries were met with forward defence — an unusual sight in a T20 innings otherwise dominated by attacking strokes.

The fifty arrived with a single tucked toward the leg side off Rashid. Moments later, Abhishek was attacking again, advancing down the pitch to launch a six over midwicket before swatting another delivery towards deep cover.

No option seemed safe.

Noor was punished too. A short ball disappeared over deep midwicket, while a fuller delivery was launched high over deep extra cover for a towering 83-metre six.

By the time Abhishek walked away, the damage was complete.

His 82-run innings came from only 32 deliveries and included seven fours and seven sixes. It also carried a string of significant milestones. He became the second-fastest player to reach 6,000 T20 runs and recorded his 14th T20 fifty in fewer than 25 balls, a record, surpassing the nine such fifties registered by Suryakumar Yadav.

But the numbers only tell part of the story.

What stood out was how methodically Abhishek dismantled Afghanistan’s attack. He scored 28 runs from nine deliveries against pace at a strike rate of 311.1, while taking 54 from 23 balls against Afghanistan’s spin attack at a strike rate of 234.78.

He read the length early, moved decisively, and punished anything even slightly loose.

The performance was particularly significant because Abhishek arrived in the series carrying pressure.

Earlier in the year, his T20 World Cup campaign at home had begun with three consecutive ducks before he found form during India’s title defence. Since then, however, runs had become increasingly difficult to find.

In his previous six T20I innings, he had managed only two double-digit scores, with 16 his highest.

Even during the 10 T20Is of the current World Cup cycle, he had accumulated only 191 runs.

That poor run had inevitably raised questions, particularly with experienced opener Sanju Samson and the explosive Vaibhav Sooryavanshi also competing for opportunities at the top of India’s batting order.

Yet India’s management continued to trust Abhishek’s ability.

With three dangerous T20 openers competing for two positions, his place in the XI remained remarkably secure.

The responsibility was therefore simple: repay that faith.

In Delhi, Abhishek did exactly that, and in the most characteristic way possible.

He did not wait for Afghanistan to settle. He did not allow the bowlers to dictate terms. He attacked first, attacked relentlessly and eventually left Afghanistan with nowhere to hide.

For Chakaravarthy, watching from the opposition balcony, the destruction carried an added sense of familiarity.

“I have personally bowled against them, I know how hard it is. I feel for their spinners,” he said.

It was perhaps the most fitting summary of an innings in which Abhishek Sharma made one of Afghanistan’s strongest weapons, its spin attack, look almost powerless.

After months of searching for runs, the Indian opener did not merely find his form.

He found his old self.