IND vs ZIM: India, the defending champions, faced a humiliating defeat in the very next game after their World Cup triumph to a petty team like Zimbabwe. The one who was largely blamed for it was India’s poor batting performance, as India has announced a very young bunch of cricketers for the Zimbabwe tour.
IPL 2024’s star performer for the Sunrisers Hyderabad, Abhishek Sharma, created a record for smashing the most sixes for SRH in an IPL season just aged 23. After this exceptional feat, he was announced as India’s first preference opener in the T20Is against Zimbabwe.
However, against the expectations of many, Abhishek got out early in the first game, as he went on to be only the fourth player in Indian history to get out on a duck on debut. Facing some criticism on social media, Abhishek also had chances of losing his spot in the starting XI as soon as Jaiswal landed in Harare.
However, putting criticisms to an end, the SRH star batted exceptionally well in the 2nd T20I. Putting on to bat first, India lost the wicket of their young skipper, Shubman Gill. However, after losing the skipper, Abhishek never seemed to lose his confidence as he wreaked havoc at Harare Sports Club.
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Abhishek Sharma captivated the cricketing world and proved his prominence in the format with a stunning 46-ball 100 against Zimbabwe in the 2nd T20 international, breaking the ex-Indian skipper’s long kept record. After he got two lifelines from Wellington Masakadza’s poor fielding, Abhishek went on to score his stunning first ton in international cricket.
The six-hitting machine went on a superb spree at Harare, as he hit 7 fours and 8 sixes in his innings. After a debut duck, the new generation left-handed batter has responded very well to his criticism. With Abhishek’s 100, India went on to post a total of 234/2 in their 20 overs.
Alongside veterans Rohit, Virat, Raina, and senior players SKY and KL Rahul, Abhishek becomes India’s 10th batter to score a ton in T20 internationals. After his wicket, Gaikwad took charge with Rinku Singh‘s stunning 22-ball 48-run finish that guided India to a huge score at the Harare Sports Club.
