Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has showered praise on Abhishek Sharma after India won the opening T20I against New Zealand by 48 runs at Nagpur on Wednesday. Sharma continued his rich form, scoring a blistering knock of 84 runs off just 35 balls with the help of five fours and eight sixes to help India post 238 runs on the board.
The pugnacious southpaw batter completed his fifty off just 22, which is the quickest half-century for an Indian batter in T20Is against New Zealand. Chopra said it is almost impossible to put the brakes on Abhishek Sharma once he gets settled at the crease and the opposition bowlers are accepting defeat while bowling to him.
Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel, “It’s remarkable. When do you actually get to see too many dot balls? It’s in the powerplay overs where it’s boundary or nothing. But he finds boundaries more often than anybody else. So, there are no dot balls there. And after that, people are willing to give him a single. It’s the threat that he poses to everyone, where you say, I’m not even looking for a dot ball.
“Once the powerplay overs are done, there is no way you can bowl a dot ball to him, unless he’s beaten, a ball goes to the keeper or the bowler actually fields himself. You’ll hardly see a dot ball anywhere else. So, I think just the way he’s batting, he’s imposing himself on the bowling unit. The bowlers are almost conceding defeat the moment they see he’s played about 15-20 balls,” the 48-year-old went on to add.
The renowned commentator added that Abhishek Sharma could set the upcoming T20 World Cup on fire from the opening game itself.
“Possibly the most prolific batter in the entire World Cup. Not just from India’s point of view. I think he could be that guy who will set the World Cup on fire from game 1 itself. There are many hitters, there are many openers who are great strikers, but nobody is coming close to the way this guy is hitting, and consistently for a longer period of time.”
The second T20I between India and New Zealand will be played at Raipur on Friday.
