Yuvraj Singh's influence on Abhishek Sharma is unmissable. The swagger, the effortlessness, the symphonic flow of the bat, a touch of nonchalance and a whole lot of class oozing through the shots. All of that and much more was on display during the India vs England 1st T20I at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Abhishek Sharma, Yuvraj's disciple, blazed to a 20-ball fifty and hit eight sixes in a breathtaking knock of 79 off just 34 balls to help India take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. It was because of Abhishek's onslaught that India were able to gallop their way to the 133-run target in just 12.5 overs.
What was Abhishek's reward after the match? A standing ovation from a capacity Eden Gardens aside, praise from his mentor Yuvraj, albeit in a cheeky way.
Among 13 boundaries (eight sixes and five fours) that Abhishek hit on Wednesday, the ones hit straight back past the bowler impressed Yuvraj the most. Two of Abhishesk's sixes and one four came in the 'V'. Yuvraj took note of that praised the all-rounder, who is extremely strong square of the wicket due to his flat batted shots, in his own style.
"Good start to the series boys ! great tone set by our bowlers and well played sir !@IamAbhiSharma4 top knock ‘!! I’m impressed you hit 2 boundaries down the ground as well," Yuraj wrote on X.
The Yuvraj connection in Abhishek's demolition job
En route, Abhishek joined Yuvraj in the list of India batters to get the fastest fifty against England in T20Is. The veteran India all-rounder had smashed a half-century in just 12 balls in that famous 2007 World T20 game in Durban, where he scored 6 sixes in an over against Stuart Broad. The youngster reached the mark on Wednesday in 20 balls.
86.07 per cent (68) of Abhishek's total runs in the first T20I against England came in boundaries. Only former India T20I skipper Rohit Sharma had a higher share of boundaries in a knock of at least 75 runs - 91.53 per cent (108/118) against Sri Lanka in Indore in 2017.
After the match, Abhishek thanked captain Suryakumar Yadav and head coach Gautam Gambhir for instilling confidence in him.
"I just wanted to express myself. A special mention to the captain and coach. They have given us a lot of freedom. The way they talk to youngsters, it's tremendous. I haven't seen a team environment like this. When it's coming from the captain and coach, to play freely, it's special," Abhishek said.
Earlier in the day, India's bowlers Arshdeep Singh (2/17) and Varun Chakaravarthy (3/22) restricted England to a below-par 132 in 20 overs. Apart from captain Jos Buttler (68 off 44) all other England batters struggled against India's bowlers.
India and England will next travel to Chennai for the second T20I set to take place on Saturday.
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