Abhishek Sharma explains cautious start against West Indies in third T20I

Abhishek Sharma said his cautious start against Roston Chase was part of a plan to counter the West Indies in the third T20I. His 30-ball 69 helped India post 223 and secure a 14-run victory in Indore.

Indore: India’s left-handed opener Abhishek Sharma revealed that his uncharacteristic cautious start against off-spinner Roston Chase was a calculated move to counter tactical plans of the West Indies before he unleashed his trademark attacking strokes in the power-play in the third T20I at the Holkar Stadium.

Abhishek led the charge with a blazing 30-ball 69, including reaching his fifty in 18 balls. It stood in stark contrast to the start India had – only 11 runs coming in the first two overs and losing Sanju Samson early. That effort helped India post 223 and edge the West Indies by 14 runs to take a 2-1 lead in the five-game series.

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“It was there in my mind that they had a plan against me. Obviously, an offspinner (Roston Chase) bowled in the first over. So it was just a battle between him and me. I gave him respect in the first over because I think he’s bowling really well in this series.

“So it’s just that the plan went pretty well for me as well, because in the Powerplay only, I was trying to just get a few runs. They had a plan for me, and I had to play better than that,” said Abhishek in the post-game press conference.

Midway through the third over, Abhishek shifted gears, creaming a drive-through cover-point before lofting Chase for consecutive sixes and that opened the doors for him to hit his 14th T20I fifty.

Commenting on his rapport with Ishan Kishan, who contributed a brisk 18-ball 3, Abhishek said they just look to compliment each other. “I have to make him (Kishan) laugh, I have to relax him a little. Because he likes to be in that zone when he comes to bat. But I feel like there is a bonding between the two of us.

“We have had so many partnerships, even in the IPL as well. So, we understand each other pretty well. Obviously Ishan comes in when a wicket is down, in the first three, four balls, or in the first two balls, (there is) that little pressure (and) I just always want him to be released from that and just play the way he always plays.

“And I think like he did last year or so…we don’t talk much about the conditions and everything when we are out there. We just enjoy each other’s batting, and just complement each other,” he added.

Reflecting on the team’s mindset during the defence of 223, Abhishek conceded that the side was committed to maintaining pressure despite a late resurgence of the visitors innings.

“West Indies is such a team; you can never say that the match has come to us against them. This was also in our mind, because we saw in the last match that the batters who come, the conditions here, it is very easy for them to take a match (away) from anywhere.

“So it was in our minds; when we were playing, we were talking about this in the huddle that we will be ruthless, we will not leave, and we will not give a single chance for a comeback. If you have seen as well, the way (Shamar) Springer batted, we were really surprised (by) the way he played those shots. They weren’t easy shots.

“So you have to be on your toes all the time. If they are 50 for 5 as well, I think they have that capability to turn things around for themselves. In that case, we were very much prepared this time. If we got a good powerplay in bowling, we can’t just give them one bad ball at that point of time. We just wanted to execute our plans, and that’s what we did,” he concluded.