India put up a mammoth powerplay score of 95/1 in the fifth and final T20I against England, at the Wankhede in Mumbai, having already sealed the series 3-1. Openers Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma walked out with a license to kill as exhibited by the former with a first-ball six enroute to a stormy 16 but it was the exploits of his younger partner that had the jam-packed raucous and ecstatic.
Abhishek began sedately, managing just five runs off his first four balls against Wood, but the madness began as soon as Archer took the Kookaburra for his second over. Abhishek shimmied down the ground on the second delivery to register his first boundary before ending the over with back-to-back maximums. A pull, drive, and cut meant 15 more came off Wood in the next but the 24-year-old had saved his best for Jamie Overton. The all-rounder’s first ball was smacked back over his head before Abhishek took the classier route to bring up the fifty as he stood still with a straight bat to smoke another maximum down the ground — the last time an Indian had struck a faster half-century was Abhishek’s mentor Yuvraj Singh himself when he had famously sent Stuart Broad crashing for six sixes in an over for a 12-ball fifty.
Ensuing overs from Adil Rashid and Livingstone featured a couple more maximums each and Brydon Carse wasn’t allowed to go unscarred either. David Miller and Rohit Sharma’s 35-ball record in T20Is only involving Test-playing nations was on the horizon but Abhishek eventually got to the three-figure mark in 37 deliveries and as the helmet came off, the blazing eyes looked hungry for even more much to Twitterati’s joy.
What a shot!!!
That he deserves!!
Even Ambani is clapping for Abhishek 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥
“Abhishek Sharma”
pic.twitter.com/oEH7xU6zEj— Enigma (@g74433073) February 2, 2025
Abhishek Sharma forces Ambani to stand up and clap for him #INDvENG #INDvsENG #zonauangᅠ #SB19 #ABCラジオ pic.twitter.com/y3dsPmi7qh
— Aakash Goyal (@aakashgoyal52a) February 2, 2025
He is already a superstar!
Haha!
Abhishek sharma is somthing else 🥶
— Virat (@chiku_187) February 2, 2025
Fastest T20I fifty for India:
12 – Yuvraj Singh vs England
17 – Abhishek Sharma vs England#AbhishekSharma #INDvsENG pic.twitter.com/igRVVvzMrx— Aman Deep Saxena (@aman_saxena_03) February 2, 2025
Kottude!!!
Deep!
Abhishek Sharma today before comes to bat 🥶 pic.twitter.com/13GLTCeJLn
— Third Man (@SteynGun_8) February 2, 2025
Abhishek Sharma 🥵🥵🥵🥵
— Gus. 𝕏 (@Sumnexyz) February 2, 2025