Abhishek Sharma was extremely tough on the England bowlers, smashing a blazing 135 off just 54 deliveries in the fifth T20I between India and England, winning hearts of fellow cricketers, experts, and fans from across the globe. Thus, he not only outscored Shubman Gill’s 126-the highest score by an Indian in T20I cricket-but things didn’t stop with that.
There was complete tirade of words of appreciation for Abhishek on social media even after the game, as many cricketers were quoted as saying it was the best innings they had ever seen in T20I cricket, and one such was KL Rahul, who took to social media to express his admiration.
KL Rahul shared on Instagram: “Wow!! Abhishek Sharma. The best T20 innings I’ve watched; unreal hitting.”
Yet, even with his fiery display of batting against the England bowlers, praise came pouring in from former English cricketers.
Leading the charge of plaudits from the former players were former England captains Michael Vaughan and Kevin Pietersen.
“Tremendous player. I don’t think you can do better than that. If anyone has played a better T20 innings than that, I have not seen it. It was as pure and as stylish as you could ever hope for,” said Vaughan on Cricbuzz.
According to Pietersen and Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir, in the post-match discussions, they felt it was the best T20I innings they had ever witnessed.
Pietersen even said, “It’s the best T20I innings I have ever seen in my entire life. I don’t know if he will bat better than that. If he does, can I be there to watch?”
Abhishek exhibited incredible strength and precise execution, by smashing seven fours and thirteen sixes. Reaching a half-century in 17 balls and century in 35 balls, Abhishek’s records were, respectively, the second best ever ought by an Indian in those disciplines.
