Abhishek Sharma looks beyond the recent slump as India’s batting mojo holds firm
There was a familiar swagger to Abhishek Sharma’s batting on Sunday, one that has been missing during India’s recent struggles. The left-hander stormed into Afghanistan for 82 off 32 balls, making the chase at the Ferozeshah Kotla look almost laughably easy as India raced to a seven-wicket victory.
But for Abhishek, the significance of the knock went beyond his own return to form. India arrived for the inaugural T20I looking to put a tough stretch of white-ball cricket behind them. Their T20I series in Ireland ended in a 0-2 defeat, followed by losses in T20I and ODI series in England.
One explosive inning won’t erase those results. But it underscored something that Abhishek was keen to emphasize after the match: India are not trying to abandon their approach just because it hasn’t always produced the desired results.
AFG vs IND, 1st T20I: Highlighting | Scorecard
“We always wanted to start as openers, especially wickets like this, if you chase 150, 160 and give an early start as an opener, it always puts you on the winning side,” Abhishek said.
BEST TIMING
We need to see why again Abhishek is one of the best in the industry. His strikes look effortless and he remains unfazed by whatever the bowler puts in front of him.
Be it a faster delivery or a slower one, Abhishek has his timing nailed to perfection. The ball seems to disappear from his bat almost before the bowler has time to react, and it flies past the boundary ropes with remarkable regularity.
His 82 came from just 32 deliveries, with seven fours and seven sixes. The fifty arrived in just 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 are viewed as a batting unit.
“One or two series does not define our team as a batting unit,” he said, pointing to the collective mindset that shaped India’s approach.
For a team that has made a conscious decision to attack from the start, inconsistency can sometimes be the price of maintaining that aggression. India knows there will be games where the approach doesn’t work out. Abhishek argues that these setbacks should not force the team to abandon what has worked for them.
He recalled how two years ago the team decided they wanted to play a certain way and dominate their opponents throughout the year leading up to the World Cup.
“Once you decided,” Abhishek said, “because I still remember two years back, we decided we wanted to play a certain way.”
FAITH IN METHOD
Against Afghanistan, this method worked impressively.
Abhishek and Ishan Kishan put on 121 off just 53 balls, turning the chase into a procession. India were 82/1 at the end of the over and eventually reached the target with 38 balls to spare.
But perhaps the greater contribution was not the victory. That was the way.
After a difficult period, India did not respond by being cautious. They went back to the same philosophy with Abhishek at the helm and attacked.
The Afghanistan game offered a timely reminder of why India supported this approach. For Abhishek, the message is simple: a couple of stunning runs does not change the identity of this team. And when that identity clicks, he can still produce batting as easy and destructive as his 82 in the Cauldron.
– The end
Issued by:
Amar Panicker
Published on:
14 Sep 2026 11:24 IST