Former India opener and cricket analyst Aakash Chopra has mapped out Abhishek Sharma’s T20I records on the day the left-handed batter completed exactly two years as an Indian international, making the case for the opener as a key figure heading into the third T20I against England at Trent Bridge on Tuesday.
India arrive at Trent Bridge 1-0 down in the five-match series, with the opener at Durham washed out and Jacob Bethell’s unbeaten 76 off 46 balls giving the hosts a four-wicket win in Manchester
on Saturday, July 4. Abhishek has been the visitors’ most consistent scorer in the ongoing tour, registering 59 off 24 balls in the first game and 43 off 24 in the second.
“On July 6, which was yesterday, Abhishek Sharma completed two years since his T20I debut, and since his debut, he has the highest strike rate (192.83) amongst all top nations. He has the highest score (135) for India. He has hit the most sixes in the world. He has hit more than 100 sixes. No one has hit more sixes than him in the same time period,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
Abhishek Sharma’s batting milestones since his India debut
The former India opener also pointed to the SRH batter’s ICC ranking and a set of record markers that underline his consistency and impact since making his India debut in Zimbabwe two years ago.
“He is No. 2 in the ICC rankings at the moment, and was No. 1 for a very long time. He has taken the fewest balls (785) to reach 100 sixes. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi might break this record someday. He has the second-most fifties with a strike rate of more than 200. He has done that nine times. He has the most fifties for India in less than 20 balls. He has done that five times,” Chopra observed.
“He has scored the most runs for India since his debut. He has scored almost 1,590 runs. He has hit the most boundaries, and I am not talking about India here. He has the most 50-plus scores (13) across the globe since his debut. He is the second youngest Indian to score 1,500 runs,” he added.
India’s series situation at Trent Bridge
The visiting side need to avoid falling 2-0 down to keep the five-match series alive, and Abhishek will once again be central to India’s batting plans. The Trent Bridge pitch has produced high scores in recent domestic T20 cricket and is expected to offer better conditions than what India encountered in Durham and Manchester. The third T20I gets under way at 10 PM IST on Tuesday, July 7, with Harry Brook’s side looking to extend their series lead.
