Abhishek Sharma entered the record books with a bizarre milestone in India’s defeat in England

India Abhishek Sharma (ANI Photo) Abhishek Sharma added an unusual record to his name during India’s fifth T20I against England at The Rose Bowl, becoming the player with the most T20I appearances before playing a Test or ODI for a full-member nation.The left-arm opener made his 53rd T20I appearance for India on Saturday, overtaking former West Indies spinner Samuel Badree, who played 52 T20Is without representing his country in the other two international formats.Most T20Is without appearing in other formats (full membership teams)53 Abhishek Sharma52 Samuel Badree41 They boldly laugh at us30 Nuwan Thushara25 Harshal PatelHowever, the milestone came on a disappointing evening for both Abhishek and India as England completed a dominant 4-0 run with a crushing 56-run victory in Southampton.Abhishek’s stay, which started the chase for a daunting 258, was short-lived. Jofra Archer dismissed him for three after extracting the extra bounce, left-handed behind the keeper.India eventually finished at 201 for 8 despite half-centuries from Ishan Kishan (56) and Tilak Varma (53), falling far short of England’s formidable total.Earlier, Jos Buttler produced one of the best innings of his T20I career as he smashed 131 off just 64 balls while Harry Brook remained unbeaten on 95. Their mammoth 233-run partnership for the second wicket became the fourth-highest stand in T20I history and powered England to 257.The Indian bowlers struggled throughout the innings, while a sloppy fielding display only compounded their woes. Buttler got a crucial reprieve after being dropped by Axar Patel, while Brook survived two dropped catches before making India pay.The defeat also had significant ramifications beyond the series score. England replaced India at the top of the ICC Men’s T20I Team Rankings as Shreyas Iyer’s side slumped to a sixth straight defeat after an earlier 2-0 series defeat to Ireland.Although Abhishek’s record highlights his growing presence in India’s T20I set-up, the opener is still waiting to make his first appearance in ODI or Test cricket, making his latest milestone one of the most unusual in international cricket.

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