India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir has picked scoring 100 runs in the Powerplay overs as the biggest positive from the third T20I against Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on Thursday. Abhishek Sharma was the chief destroyer in the first six overs as he took Afghanistan bowlers to the cleaners.
The left-hander reached his fifty off just 16 balls and scored 76 runs out of the 100 in the field-restricted overs. This was India’s highest score in the Powerplay overs, leapfrogging their previous best of 95-1 against England in 2025.
Abhishek went on to score 108 runs off just 34 balls, with the help of nine fours and 11 sixes. The youngster completed his hundred off just 30 balls, which is the fastest for a batter from a Test-playing nation.
Gautam Gambhir said in the post-match press conference, “It’s not about the hundred that he (Abhishek) scored today. I can sit here and keep talking about his hundred, but it’s just the impact. The only thing that we talk about in that dressing room is how much impact can we create with the bat and how much impact can we create with the ball.”
“T20 cricket is not about runs or wickets, it’s about how much impact you can create. And for both Sanju [Samson] and Abhishek, I think you can easily sit here and say one got a 50 and the other one got a 100. But for me, I think the biggest positive was when we got 100 in the powerplay. We have never done that in my coaching tenure.”
On the other hand, India has been hit by injury woes, which hasn’t allowed the team to play its preferred XI. Gambhir said the team always wants its best players to be available for selection.
Asked if the recurring injury issue is a problem, “See, if I give a dead honest answer, then yes. Because, especially in Test cricket or One-Day cricket, you want your best players to play as much as they can, because the next World Cup is a 50-over World Cup. And more importantly, it’s not fair on a young captain as well if he doesn’t get the best team playing consistently and regularly, and not being on the park consistently.”
India will next take on Japan in a one-off T20I.
