Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has showered praise on Abhishek Sharma after India clinched a comprehensive 72-run win against Zimbabwe at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Thursday. Sharma, who was under all sorts of pressure, scored a crucial knock of 55 runs off just 30 balls to get back into form.
This was the left-hander’s maiden T20 World Cup fifty and it would have certainly added a shot in his arm after he went through a rough patch in the first four games he played.
Pathan said Abhishek’s return to form was the biggest positive for India as the left-hander looked in complete control as he played down the ground, in the V.
Irfan Pathan said on his YouTube Channel, “The biggest positive was Abhishek Sharma. This was his second slowest fifty. Otherwise, you know he usually hits very fast half-centuries. That is the kind of fearless batter he is. He played the first ball very carefully, and after that, whenever he got the opportunity, he went for the big shots. One thing was very clear. He is a player who usually scores a lot of runs square of the wicket. But against Zimbabwe, on this Chennai pitch, he consciously tried to score more runs straight down the ground, in the V.”
“About 68 percent of his runs came in the V, whereas most of Abhishek Sharma’s runs generally come square of the wicket. Even when he scores a fifty, usually only 35 to 40 percent of his runs are straight. But here, nearly 70 percent of his runs were in the V. That means it was a conscious effort to play straighter. Naturally, that also gave him the chance to free his arms against fuller deliveries, and he was also waiting for the slower ones. Abhishek Sharma found success with that approach. This is a very big positive going forward,” he added.
On the other hand, Sanju Samson opened the innings with Abhishek Sharma and the pair added 48 runs for the opening alliance. Samson scored a fine cameo of 24 runs off just 15 balls and Pathan said the ploy of promoting the right-hander almost worked to a large extent.
“What was the Indian team trying to achieve by sending Sanju Samson to open? They wanted a right-hand and left-hand combination, and to a large extent, it worked for them. That is also why you did not see Raza bowling the first over as an off-spinner, because Sanju Samson had come out to bat. Samson responded immediately, smashing the second ball straight down the ground. India got the kind of start they were looking for through Sanju Samson’s 24-run knock off 15 balls. He hit boundaries, played some big shots, and looked attractive in his strokeplay.”
India will take on the West Indies at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Sunday in what will be a virtual quarterfinal clash.
