India vs West Indies: ‘Plan B’ against Abhishek Sharma Revealed! The Indian star says he knew West Indies’ strategy

Abhishek Sharma (Image credit: BCCI) NEW DELHI: Indian opener Abhishek Sharma knew West Indies had a plan to contain him. His answer was simple: play better than they planned.The left-hander’s explosive 30-ball 69 proved decisive as India beat West Indies by 14 runs in the third T20I to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series. West Indies all-rounder Shamar Springer later revealed that the visitors’ Plan B against the in-form opener was to take a defensive approach and restrict him to singles and twos rather than allowing him to continue his blistering rampage.Abhishek smashed six fours and five sixes to score his 14th T20I half-century and become the fastest player to reach 2000 runs in the format in terms of balls faced. His 108-run partnership with Ishan Kishan, who scored 37, helped India post 223 before the bowlers held their nerve to restrict the visitors to 209/7.

Springer reveals West Indies’ Plan B

With Abhishek taking on Roston Chase’s spin initially, West Indies had to rethink their approach against the dangerous opener. Springer explained that the team decided to focus on damage control rather than trying to get an aggressive layup.“He’s a world-class player. Kudos to him, sure. But I think our plan B is to be as defensive as possible and try to get him to get singles and doubles, run at times. Nothing extravagant,” Springer told reporters after the game.“It was just about trying to pull it back and be as impressive as possible. Because you can’t really have much control here. The goals are so good and these players are world-class players and they’re the best for a reason. So you can’t really do much except defend,” he added.However, this strategy could not stop Abhishek from giving India a flying start. The opener’s attack gave the home team the cushion they needed to withstand a late onslaught from the West Indies.Springer himself threatened to turn the match around with an unbeaten 35 off just 11 balls, including four sixes and two fours, but the visitors ended up losing by 14 runs.

‘I had to play better than that’: Abhishek

Abhishek admitted that the West Indies’ tactics against him were on his mind, especially when Chase opened the bowling and the pitch was set to attack his preferred scoring areas.“I wouldn’t say it was deliberate, but I meant that they had a plan against me,” Abhishek said.“(With) bowling off-spin against me, it was just a battle between him and me. I gave him respect in the first game because he’s been playing really well in this series, so it was a plan that worked pretty well for me as well.”However, the opener insisted that his strokeplay was dictated by the field rather than any premeditated attempt to hit a particular area.“…because in the power play I was just trying to get a few runs and they had a plan for me and I had to play better than that,” he said. “I don’t think and I don’t play on purpose. It just happens when I see the fielding, whenever they have a fielding that allows me to give myself space and play those shots.”

India remain ruthless despite late scare

Abhishek said India were determined not to let the West Indies back into the contest knowing the visitors had enough firepower to threaten even in difficult situations.“West Indies are such a team that you can never say the match is on our side now,” he said, recalling how opposition batsmen have shown their ability to change the course of a game.“That’s what we had in mind because we saw in the last game that whichever batsman comes in, (with) the conditions we have here, it’s very easy for him to take the match on his side.”“So it was in our mind, even when we were losing wickets, we were saying that we will be ruthless about it and not give them a single chance to come back,” Abhishek added.Springer felt West Indies could have brought the chase closer, pointing to missed scoring opportunities and a pitch that played lower than expected. He also credited the Indian bowlers for using the conditions effectively.India’s 14-run win gave them a 2-1 series lead, with Abhishek’s early onslaught again highlighting why opposition sides are looking for ways to contain him.

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