England head coach Brendon McCullum praised Indian opener Abhishek Sharma’s performance in the final T20I in Mumbai, calling it one of the best knocks in T20I history.
Abhishek blasted an impressive 135 off 54 balls, including 13 sixes and 7 fours, against a strong English bowling attack.
The young opener also became the second-fastest player to reach a T20I century, doing so in just 37 balls, trailing only Rohit Sharma. This was Abhishek’s second T20I century in just 17 matches, helping India post a huge total of 247/9 in their 20 overs. In response, England collapsed for just 97, suffering a record 150-run defeat.
Reflecting on the knock, McCullum told the media [as quoted by India Today“We’ve seen so many players over the years in this format that have been able to do it – Chris Gayle, Aaron Finch, AB de Villiers – and maybe Abishek Sharma is putting his hand up as one of those players. First and foremost, the innings we saw from Abhishek is as good an innings as we’ve ever witnessed in T20 cricket.”
He further added:“He’s not just doing it against any attack, he’s doing it against four guys who bowl 90mph and an absolute gun leg-spinner. I’m very realistic that when I see someone come out of the telephone box and play an innings like that, sometimes you throw all the different plans you want at it but if he’s hitting it like that, you really can’t stop it.”
“I don’t believe you can play any better than that”- Michael Vaughan
Former England captain Michael Vaughan showered praise on Abhishek Sharma following his century in the final T20I against England. The left-hander became one of only six Indian batters to score multiple T20I centuries in just his 17th match in the format.
Discussing the young Indian opener on Cricbuzz, Vaughan stated [as quoted by NDTV
“Wonderful player. I don’t think you can play any better than that. If anyone’s played a better T20 innings than that, I’ve not seen it. That was as pure and as stylish as you could possibly ever hope for.”
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