Opener Abhishek Sharma, who hammered a 54-ball 135 and claimed 2 wickets for three runs to help India thrash England by 150 runs in the fifth and final T20I, said his mentor Yuvraj Singh would have been really happy with his knock as he batted till the end of the innings, staying till the 18th over at the Wankhede Stadium here on Sunday. The left-handed opener started at a breakneck pace, hitting Jofra Archer and Mark Wood for successive boundaries at the start of the innings but slowed down in the middle overs before hitting some big shots towards the end of his innings as he got out for 135 in the 18th over. Overall, he blasted 13 sixes, the highest in a T20I innings by an Indian batter.

“Probably he [mentor Yuvraj Singh] should be happy today. He’s always wanted me to bat into the 15th, and 20th over, and I’ve tried to implement that,” said Abhishek.

The 24-year-old from Amritsar, Punjab, who made his mark in IPL 2024 with some superb batting for Sunrisers Hyderabad, thanked skipper Suryakumar Yadav and head coach Gautam Gambhir for backing him.

Abhishek blazed to the second-fastest fifty in 17 balls, and the second-fastest hundred off 37 balls by an Indian batter, helping India post a massive 247/9 in 20 overs. He then came back to claim two wickets and with Mohammed Shami bagging 3-25, India bundled out England for 97 runs to win the match by 150 runs with 57 balls to spare. He nearly broke Yuvraj Singh’s record for the fastest fifty off 15 balls and Rohit Sharma’s record for the swiftest 100 off 35 balls.

Abhishek called his knock a special one as his mother and sister were in the Stadium watching him and credited T20I skipper Suryakumar and coach Gambhir for backing his style of play. He said he felt it was his day and therefore went after the bowling from the start.

“It’s a special one, coming for the country, always a great feeling. When I see it’s my day, I always try to go from the first ball. And the way the coach and the captain have treated me from the first day. They’ve always wanted this intent, they’ve always backed me.

About his ability to play brilliantly-timed shots against some of England’s best fast bowlers, Abhishek said he just reacted to the ball.

“When the opponents are bowling 140, 150-plus, you have to be ready a little earlier. Just react to the ball and play my shots. When you’re hitting a world-class bowler over the covers [off Archer], it’s always great, but I really liked the shots against Adil Rashid as well,” said Abhishek.

India take 2-1 lead in four-match T20I series vs South Africa.© AFP

India A excelled in all three departments, clinching a thrilling seven-run victory over Pakistan to kick off their ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup campaign on an exhilarating note in Al Amerat, Oman on Saturday. India’s top order fired in unison as it posted 183 for 8 with Tilak Verma top-scoring with a 35-ball 44 after opting to bat. Pacers Anshul Kamboj (3/33) and Rasikh Salam (2/30) and spinner Nishant Sindhu (2/15) shared eight wickets amongst themselves to restrict Pakistan to 176/7.

Not only did India shine with the bat and ball, they also delivered an impressive performance in the field, particularly through Ramandeep Singh, who made a stunning catch and saved vital runs in the closing moments.

Openers Abhishek Sharma (35 off 22) and Prabhsimran Singh (36 off 19) unleashed an aggressive assault on the pace attack, sending the ball flying across the field.

Abhishek slapped consecutive boundaries in the first over, while Prabhsimran followed suit by dispatching Zaman Khan for a four and a six in the next over, setting a vibrant tone.

Together, they struck eight boundaries and five sixes, propelling India A to an impressive 68 without loss during the Powerplay.

However, the introduction of spin after the Powerplay slowed their momentum, leading to the loss of both Abhishek and Prabhsimran in quick succession. This brought skipper Verma (44) and Nehal Wadhera (25) to the crease.

As the pitch became increasingly sluggish, Verma took on the anchor role, while Wadhera and Ramandeep (17) found the boundaries.

After losing two wickets to the pace of all-rounder Anshul Kamboj early in the chase, Yasir Khan (33) and Qasim Akram (27) began to attack fiercely.

However, a spectacular catch by Ramandeep at deep midwicket broke their partnership, dismissing Yasir. In the same over, left-arm spinner Nishant made his mark by removing Akram.

Arafat Minhas top-scored for Pakistan with 29-ball 41 but it was Abdul Samad who blazed away to 25 off 15 balls. Samad walked in when Pakistan needed 58 more to win but the 26-year-old hit a six and two back-to-back boundaries off Vaibhav Arora in the 16th over to bring down the equation to 42 off 24 balls.

Samad continued to chip in with Pakistan needing 17 off the last over but the big-hitter was sent marching off the first ball by Anshul with India completing a memorable win.

LSG Owner Sanjiv Goenka (left) and KKR co-owner Shah Rukh Khan.© X (formerly Twitter)