India cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar praised explosive opener Abhishek Sharma for stifling his detractors with a timely half-century against Zimbabwe in the T20 World Cup, saying he was shocked to see him play a defensive stroke.
Three ducks in a row, Abhishek seemed like a distant shadow of his dominant self after recovering from a gastrointestinal ailment.
But on Thursday, Abhishek showed signs of recovery by smashing a 30-ball 55 in India’s 72-run victory over Zimbabwe, snapping the lean patch.
“We know how good Abhishek Sharma is as a batter. He silenced his doubters with this knock of 55 runs against Zimbabwe. He took that extra time to start his innings. There was a method to his batting. He respected the off spinner, didn’t take any kind of risks and played in a calm and a composed manner. In this game, he actually played a defensive shot. He defended the ball. I was surprised to see that because we don’t usually see Abhishek do that,” PTI quoted Gavaskar as saying on JioStar.
For Abhishek, whose batting prowess is in the vanguard of India’s attack, the batting legend acknowledged it has been a learning curve.
“I really think this is a learning curve for him. Every cricketer goes through a rough patch of not scoring runs in back-to-back games. It is about how much you learn from it. I feel Abhishek has learned a lot and this will augur well for him going forward, in the next couple of games and the all-important clash against West Indies in Kolkata,” Gavaskar said.
According to Gavaskar, India looked like a “broken” team against South Africa, but they soon learned from their mistakes and replaced Sanju Samson at the top to guarantee a right-hand left-hand combination.
“As they say, why fix things if it ain’t broke? But India were broken against South Africa. They realised they needed a right-left combination at the top. Learning from the previous game was very important. In the interest of the team, he (Samson) went for a big hit and got out. That is fine because he got India off to a flying start. In a tournament like the T20 World Cup, that is important. A flying start gives a nice platform for the other batters to come in and smash the ball around,” Gavaskar said.
Gavaskar stated that India will need to be cautious of the West Indies’ all-around potency when the two teams play a virtual knockout match in Kolkata on Sunday.
“(The) West Indies is a completely different challenge. They cannot be taken for granted. Their batters are in top form. Their bowlers are doing well. They punish opposition mistakes and strike at the right time. India will need a good plan to handle the West Indies batting threat. Their batters start playing shots from ball one. They do not wait to see if the delivery needs respect. Their way of respecting the ball is by hitting it over the ropes,” Gavaskar said.
