Freedom from captain, coach boosted my confidence to perform: Abhishek Sharma after match-winning knock

In India, with a target of 133 to chase down within 13 overs, Abhishek delivered a batting masterclass before a packed crowd. Opening the innings, he smashed five boundaries and eight sixes during his 34-ball knock, reaching his half-century in just 20 deliveries.

Kolkata: Left-handed opener Abhishek Sharma, who smashed a scintillating 79 to help India thrash England by seven wickets in the T20I series opener at the Eden Gardens, has credited the freedom given to youngsters by captain Suryakumar Yadav and head coach Gautam Gambhir propelling him to come good.

In India chasing down 133 inside 13 overs, Abhishek provided an absolute masterclass to a full house crowd on opening the batting by hitting five boundaries and eight sixes in his 34-ball stay, including getting his fifty in 20 deliveries.

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He mixed finesse and brute force in getting a whopping 68 out of 79 runs from boundaries, and play a leading role in getting a comprehensive win for India to go 1-0 up in the five-match series. “I wanted to express myself, special mention to the captain and coach, the freedom they have given us as youngsters is tremendous. It was sticking a bit, double-paced, but the way our bowlers bowled was good, thought we’d chase 160-170. Sanju and I talk as partners, I enjoy at the other end.”

“When I came for the first time in the India team, my plan was simple, play like I played in IPL. But never seen an environment like this, express yourself, hit your shots, even from the first ball. I practice my trigger movements before the match, I knew they’d bowl short and check my patience,” said Abhishek after the match ended.

The Player of the Match award, though, went to wrist-spinner Varun Chakaravarthy, who spun a vicious spin web to pick 3-23 at a venue where he regularly plays for his IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders.

“I’m used to seeing such pitches in the IPL, it is for the seamers but the length I bowl it’s helpful too. Keep it from their arc, holding a bit. Every over, bowling to a batsman like Jos is definitely challenging, but with God’s grace, I was successful. The plan was to extract more bounce because I cannot beat batsmen with side spin, only bounce. Still more work to do. Only 7 out of 10.”