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Abhishek Sharma’s bizarre day on Saturday, July 11, ended in disappointment for the India national cricket team. Abhishek Sharma set a rare world record during the fifth and final T20I against England, but India once again failed to perform well, with the hosts winning the series 4-0.
It was a special individual achievement for Abhishek, but his achievement was overshadowed by the team’s poor performance. England defeated India in every department and finished the series by winning the final match by 56 runs at the Rose Bowl in Southampton on 11 July.
Abhishek Sharma achieves bizarre feat in India’s painful defeat
Abhishek Sharma played his 53rd T20 match for India in Southampton on Saturday and with this he became the player from a Full Member country to play the most T20 matches without making a debut in Test or ODI cricket.
The stylish left-handed batsman overtook former West Indies spinner Samuel Badree, who had played 52 T20 matches without playing any Test or ODI. Zimbabwe’s Tashinga Musekiwa is next on the list with 41 T20 Internationals, followed by Sri Lanka’s Nuwan Thushara with 30 and India’s Harshal Patel with 25.
However, Abhishek failed to equal his record with the bat. India needed 258 runs to win, but their bat could not perform in the fifth and last T20 match on Saturday. England fast bowler Jofra Archer dismissed him for just three runs after getting extra bounce from the pitch and wicketkeeper Jos Buttler caught the ball safely.
Ishan Kishan and Tilak Verma fought hard, but India fell behind
India kept losing wickets at regular intervals while chasing the target. Ishan Kishan tried to keep the fight alive by scoring 56 runs in 35 balls, while Tilak Verma played an aggressive innings of 53 runs in just 25 balls, but the required run rate kept rising and India finished at 201/8.
Earlier, England completely dominated the batting after India won the toss and decided to bowl first. Jos Buttler played a brilliant inning of 131 runs in just 64 balls, while captain Harry Brook remained unbeaten on 95 runs in 45 balls.
Both the batsmen made a big partnership of 233 runs for the second wicket. His brilliant batting helped England post a mammoth score of 257/3 in 20 overs. India’s bowlers had no answer to England’s aggressive batting. Fielding was also disappointing, as India dropped important catches. Meanwhile, Prince Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi will replace the injured pair for England ODI, Zimbabwe T20I.
Abhishek Sharma’s mixed tour, England becomes number 1 T20 team
With this win, the England team has achieved a one-sided 4-0 victory in the series after the first T20 match was canceled due to rain. The win also helped England replace India as the No. 1 team in the ICC men’s T20I rankings. Now both the teams will focus on the ODI series.
Notably, Abhishek Sharma started the England T20I series with a brilliant knock of 59 off 24 balls, scored the fastest T20I half-century by an Indian in England and became the fastest batsman to complete 100 T20I sixes in just 785 balls. However, the Punjab player failed to continue the momentum and could only score 43, 10, 16 and 3 runs in the last four innings against England.
