In their Asia Cup Super 4 encounter in Dubai on Sunday, India’s opener Abhishek Sharma expressed his disapproval of the unnecessary aggression displayed by the Pakistani players, saying that the best way to counter an in-the-face opposition was to use an extremely aggressive batting strategy.
As India surmounted a 172-run target with six wickets remaining, Abhishek hammered a 39-ball 74 and shared a 105-run opening-wicket stand with Shubman Gill.
“Today it was very simple, the way they (Pakistan players) were coming at us for no reason, I didn’t like it at all and this is the only way (his aggressive batting) I could give medicine to them,” said Abhishek in the post-match presentation.
During the game, Abhishek and Gill each faced off against Pakistani pacers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf.
Apart from that, Abhishek was thrilled to have formed a fantastic stand with Gill, with whom he had a close bond since age-group cricket.
“We have been playing since school days, we enjoy each other’s company, we thought we would do it and today was the day. The way he was giving it back, I really enjoyed it.
“It’s (the way he bats) because the team supports me. That’s the intent I show and I’m practicing really hard and if it’s my day, I’m gonna win it for my team,” he added.
India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah had a bad day, giving up more than 10 runs per over in his four-over stint. Captain Suryakumar Yadav, however, did not read too much into it.
“That’s fine, he’s not a robot, he will have a bad day someday. But (Shivam) Dube bailed us out of the situation,” he said.
Gill and Abhishek were praised by Suryakumar for providing India with a flawless start.
“They complement each other really well. It’s like a fire and ice combination,” said Suryakumar and joked that the players will receive a mail from fielding coach T Dilip on their four dropped catches.
After a relatively dull opening ten overs in which Pakistan scored more than nine runs per over, the Mumbai man was pleased with the team’s fightback.
“The way the boys are stepping up in every game, it’s making my job very easy. The boys showed a lot of character. They were calm after the first 10 overs (of India’s bowling innings). After drinks, I told them the game starts now,” he noted.
Pakistan captain Salman Agha claimed that India’s Powerplay batting strategy completely changed the outcome of the match.
“We are yet to play a perfect game, but we are getting there. A great game but in the Powerplay they took the game away from us. Looking back with the position we were in after 10 overs, we could have got 10-15 more. 170-180 is a good total but in the Powerplay they batted well, that was the difference,” said Agha.
