Abhishek Sharma captivated the Wankhede Stadium with an extraordinary record-setting century, as India triumphed over England in the final T20I by an impressive margin of 150 runs. With the series already secured, India’s batting prowess was on full display, spearheaded by Abhishek’s remarkable performance. The team concluded their innings at 247/9, bolstered by the opener’s explosive 135 runs off just 54 balls. In response, England faltered dramatically, being dismissed for under 100 runs, despite a commendable half-century from Phil Salt.
Abhishek Sharma scores a century of just 35 balls
Sanju Samson, under some pressure, struck the very first delivery for a six after India was sent in to bat, and he followed this with another six just four balls later. However, Mark Wood dismissed him in the subsequent over, as the opener hit a short ball directly to deep square leg. This marked the beginning of Abhishek Sharma’s impressive performance. He launched a series of sixes against Archer in the next over and continued to dominate Wood as well. Jamie Overton faced a similar fate, receiving consecutive sixes that enabled Abhishek to reach his fifty in just 17 balls, making it the second-fastest fifty by an Indian in this format. Tilak Varma also played a significant role, contributing with a barrage of boundaries, as India set a new record for the highest total (95) in the powerplay.
Any hopes England had of slowing down the scoring rate after the powerplay were quickly dashed, as Abhishek scored two runs off Adil Rashid, followed by another pair off Liam Livingstone. England found some relief when they dismissed Varma, and Suryakumar Yadav’s struggles continued. Nevertheless, India had already amassed 143 runs by the halfway point, and England needed to dismiss Abhishek to regain control. Although Abhishek took a more subdued approach after reaching his century off just 37 balls, it was now Shivam Dube’s opportunity to carry on the onslaught.
England’s strategy to contain him with pace proved ineffective, as Dube struck boundaries against Archer and Overton, quickly accumulating 24 runs off just 9 balls at one stage. However, England managed a brief resurgence by claiming the wickets of Dube, Hardik Pandya, and Rinku Singh in quick succession, a sequence that likely prevented India from surpassing the 250-run threshold. Nevertheless, Abhishek inflicted significant damage in the closing overs, increasing his tally of sixes and ultimately setting a new record for the most sixes (13) in a T20I innings by an Indian. Following his departure, the final two overs yielded only 10 runs for the hosts, yet this total proved more than sufficient.
Spinner dominate as England gets all out for just 97 runs
Salt’s objectives were unmistakably evident as he aggressively pursued a target of 248. Mohammed Shami faced a barrage of boundaries, conceding 4, 4, and 6 upon his return, but he quickly redeemed himself by claiming the wicket of Ben Duckett. England surged to 48/1 after the initial four overs; however, the true test lay in confronting the spin bowlers. As anticipated, it was spin that dismantled any slim hopes they harbored, with Varun Chakaravarthy striking on his very first delivery to dismiss the dangerous Jos Buttler.
Following this, Harry Brook and Livingstone fell victim as Ravi Bishnoi and Chakaravarthy effectively extinguished the chase within just 6.1 overs, despite Salt having raced to 48 runs off a mere 20 balls at that juncture. The opener then launched Chakaravarthy over deep midwicket, reaching his fifty in just 21 deliveries, while Jacob Bethell exhibited aggression with a six in the same over. Nevertheless, in a swift turn of events, England plummeted from 82/4 to 90/8 within a span of 2.1 overs. These wickets were claimed by the unlikely duo of Dube and centurion Abhishek, who each took two wickets, swiftly dismantling the batting order. Shami returned to seal England’s fate as the visitors collapsed to 97 all out in under 11 overs.
SCORECARD: India 247/9 in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 135; Brydon Carse 3/38) beat England 97 in 10.3 overs (Phil Salt 55; Mohammed Shami 3/25, Abhishek Sharma 2/3) by 150 runs
