Mumbai: Hitting some sensational shots all around the ground, opener Abhishek Sharma blazed to the second-fastest century by an Indian off 37 balls as his aggressive batting helped India post a massive total of 247 for 9 against England in the fifth and final T20I of the series at the Wankhede Stadium here on Sunday.
Abhishek hammered the second-fastest fifty (17 balls) and second-fastest century (37 balls) during a majestic 135 off 54 balls, treating every England bowler with disdain, pulling, hoicking, reversing and driving with aplomb as he struck seven boundaries and 13 scintillating sixes.
England skipper Jos Butter had opted to bowl first hoping to exploit the assistance bowlers usually get at the Wankhede but it only materialised as Abhishek came out with all guns blazing.
Earlier, Sanju Samson started the Indian innings with a bang and perished tamely in the second over. The wicketkeeper batter from Kerala pulled Jofra Archer flat over midwicket for a six off the first ball of the match and then pulled him behind square on the fifth and followed that up with a cut on the sixth, despatching it over the cordon for a four.
He tried to repeat the act by whipping Mark Wood uppishly but the ball was slightly faster and came into his hips and all Sanju could manage was an easy catch to Archer. Samson was out for 16 off seven balls, hitting one four and two sixes.
Archer’s bad day continued as Abhishek Sharma first smashed him to the extra-cover fence and then cut and cover-drove him in the point region for back-to-back sixes. Archer’s two overs cost 34 runs.
The left-handed batter went hammer and tongs at Mark Wood and Jamie Overton and also mauled other bowlers, hitting Wood for two fours and a six in the fourth over, hammered back-to-back sixes off the first two deliveries by Overton as he raced to his fifty off 17 balls, the second fastest for India in T20Is after Yuvraj Singh’s 12-ball blitzkrieg against England in the 2007 T20 World Cup in Durban. India were 95/1 at the end of six overs, posting their highest-ever score in Powerplay in T20Is.
Abhishek and Tilak Varma helped India reach 100 runs in the second wicket partnership off 36 balls, with Abhishek contributing 80 and Varma 23. Varma (23 off 15) fell soon after, caught behind by Phil Salt off Brydon Carse. But their 115-run partnership has already put India on course for a big total.
The pitch was expected to provide early assistance to the bowlers but the Indian batters made scoring runs look easy. Abhishek Sharma, who continued to hammer the English bowlers, reached his hundred off 37 balls, hitting five fours and 10 sixes. He missed by two balls the fastest century in T20Is in a match involving two full members, shared by David Miller and Rohit Sharma. Rohit had blazed to a hundred off 35 balls against Sri Lanka in 2017.
Though skipper Suryakumar Yadav (2) fell cheaply but Abhishek got good company in Shivam Dube, who was substituted after suffering a concussion in the previous match. Dube played a pull and short-arm hook for back-to-back four and six off Archer and then handed the same treatment to Overton in the 13th over as India reached 178/3. He blasted 30 off 13 balls before being caught by Rashid off Carse. Hardik Pandya (9) and Rinku Singh (9) were out cheaply as India reached 200 runs in the 16th over.
Abhishek, who had slowed down a bit into his 90s, unshackled himself again in the last five overs, hitting Carse for a four and six and Adil Rashid to two sixes before he was caught by Archer off Rashid, reaching out to hit a wrong’un and slicing it to sweeper cover. India were 237/7 in the 18th over and India finished close to 250 thanks to a couple of boundaries by Axar Patel (15).
Brydon Carse was the most successful England bowler for England with 3-38 while Mark Wood was the most economical with 2-32 off four overs.
Brief scores:
India 247/9 in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 135, Shivam Dube 30; Brydon Carse 3-38; Mark Wood 2-32) against England.
(IANS)
