Abhishek Sharma looks beyond recent dip as India’s batting mojo holds firm

There was a familiar swagger to Abhishek Sharma’s batting on Sunday, the kind that had been missing during India’s recent struggles. The left-hander tore into Afghanistan with an 82 off 32 balls, making a 157-run chase at the Ferozeshah Kotla look almost ridiculously simple as India raced to a seven-wicket win.

For Abhishek, however, the significance of the knock went beyond his own return to form. India had arrived at the opening T20I looking to put a difficult stretch of white-ball cricket behind them. Their T20I series in Ireland had ended in a 0-2 defeat, followed by losses in the T20I and ODI series in England.

One explosive innings was not going to erase those results. But it did underline something Abhishek was keen to stress after the game: India are not looking to abandon their approach simply because it has not always produced the desired results.

AFG vs IND, 1st T20I: Highlights | Scorecard

“We always wanted to give that start as openers, especially wickets like this, if you’re chasing 150, 160, and you give an early start as openers, it always makes you on the winning side,” Abhishek said.

TIMING AT ITS BEST

We got to see once again why Abhishek is one of the best in the business. He makes his shots look effortless and remains unfazed by what the bowler puts in front of him.

Be it a faster delivery or one taken off the pace, Abhishek has the timing nailed to perfection. The ball seems to disappear from his bat almost before the bowler has had time to react, flying beyond the boundary ropes with remarkable regularity.

His 82 came from just 32 deliveries, with seven fours and seven sixes. The fifty arrived in only 22 balls, giving India the kind of explosive start that has become central to their T20 identity.

NO NEED TO PANIC

Abhishek’s message after the match was equally emphatic. He refused to let a couple of disappointing series dictate how India view themselves as a batting unit.

“One or two series won’t define our team as a batting unit,” he said, pointing towards the collective mindset that has shaped India’s approach.

For a team that has consciously chosen to attack from the outset, inconsistency can sometimes be the price of maintaining that aggression. India know there will be games when the approach does not come off. Abhishek’s argument is that those failures should not force the team to abandon what has worked for them.

He recalled how, two years ago, the team had decided that it wanted to play in a certain manner and dominate opposition throughout the year leading into the World Cup.

“Once you have decided,” Abhishek said, “because I still remember two years back we decided we want to play in a certain way.”

BELIEF IN THE METHOD

Against Afghanistan, that method clicked spectacularly.

Abhishek and Ishan Kishan put on 121 from just 53 balls, turning the chase into a procession. India were 82/1 at the end of the powerplay and eventually reached the target with 38 balls to spare.

But perhaps the bigger takeaway was not the margin of victory. It was the manner of it.

After a difficult period, India did not respond by becoming cautious. They went back to the same philosophy, with Abhishek at the forefront, and attacked.

The Afghanistan game offered a timely reminder of why India have backed that approach. For Abhishek, the message is simple: a few underwhelming series do not change the identity of this team. And when that identity clicks, it can still produce batting as effortless and destructive as his 82 at the Kotla.

– Ends