IND vs ZIM: In Abhishek Sharma’s statement century, his improved off-side play stands out

No two successive days could be more distinctly separated at the Harare Sports Club.

Sporting highs come in rationed cartridges for Sikandar Raza’s men. And so Zimbabwe would have hoped to revel in the highs of inflicting a stunning loss for India in the opening T20I overnight a little longer. But Sunday was different. A probable chapter of another upheaval was heavily suppressed by India within 24 hours at the same venue.

While the joy was fleeting for the hosts, the low of bagging a duck on debut was banished with a thunderous riposte by India opener Abhishek Sharma.

On Saturday, Abhishek’s swashbuckling blade was silenced by Brian Bennett’s off-spin in the first over of a 116-run chase. He holed out to deep mid-wicket as he aimed to open his international career with a maximum. Though he had perfected the craft on faster pitches in the IPL earlier this year, the young left-hander was quick to realise that Harare was no Hyderabad; it required a different temper to succeed.

For his maiden 💯 in his second T20I, Abhishek Sharma receives the Player of the Match 🏆#TeamIndia win by 100 runs and level the series 1️⃣ – 1️⃣

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/yO8XjNqmgW#TeamIndia | #ZIMvIND | @IamAbhiSharma4 pic.twitter.com/b72Y9LaAiq

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 7, 2024

Batting first following the modest chase on the same pitch from the other evening, Abhishek was certain to cling onto his methods but with a touch of restraint. For the sake of occasion and his wont, he ensured that the first runs off his bat were born from a maximum. The same first over and deep mid-wicket region and the same bowler in Bennett were at the receiving end of a firm pull off the backfoot. But when his senior partner and skipper Shubman Gill perished early, Sharma was happy to hold himself back throughout the Powerplay.

For a gentle fear of another collapse, India had Sai Sudharsan, a fourth opener drafted into the XI, alongside Gill and Ruturaj Gaikwad. While three of them can fall under the ‘accumulator’ tag, it is Abhishek’s versatile aggression that seems to be the first stylistic positive in the void left by Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

Biding time was crucial on a surface that aided extra bounce. While No.3 Gaikwad initially struggled to counter the uneven pace of the pitch, Abhishek dropped anchor with a steady supply of singles. Until he signalled a change of guard in the ninth over, shortly after being dropped by Wellington Masakadza on 24 at long-off. Abhishek’s intent immediately touched overdrive as he thumped Raza over wide long-off for a six.

📸 📸 That 💯 Feeling! ✨

Congratulations Abhishek Sharma! 👏 👏

Follow the Match ▶️ https://t.co/yO8XjNpOro#TeamIndia | #ZIMvIND | @IamAbhiSharma4 pic.twitter.com/EWQ8BcDAL3

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 7, 2024

The ball soon thudded onto the Sports Club’s green roof behind fine-leg as Abhishek devoured Dion Myers’ feeble medium-pacers. He ransacked 26 off the over — with three fours and two sixes — as India got to 102 in 11 overs, a total they had made in 20 in the first outing.

Fastest in terms of innings

It only took Abhishek 13 deliveries to convert his 33-ball half-century into his maiden T20I hundred, an unprecedented waltz that made him the fastest Indian to record a ton in the format in terms of the number of innings — only his second in internationals.

A whiff of Chris Gayle was in the air when Sharma launched Masakadza for three consecutive sixes to boom from 82 to 100. The first hit, straight from the Gayle textbook, had Abhishek smother length with a similar high backlift and head partially across the line. He followed it with a prance down the strip like the mighty Jamaican, whipping another length ball off his hips over the ropes.

The third hit required a touch of his own and a more adaptive bat swing. Left-armer Masakadza tossed in a wayward low full-toss down the legside. Abhishek deftly swung his bat across and opened it up gently at the last moment to connect the ball over the fine-leg boundary to bring up the century. It was a milestone he had given no liking to during a whirlwind IPL season with the Sunrisers Hyderabad where he had batted no more than 28 balls in any innings and yet amassed over 400 runs with a 200-plus strike rate.

While he plundered 50 runs through mid-wicket and long-on in the afternoon, it was a refreshing sight of off-side shotmaking that added to the allure of the knock, topped by two inside-out sixes over cover against Raza and Masakadza.

The template for the day was set much before Abhishek (100, 47b, 7×4, 8×6) was dismissed in the 14th over as the leather-hunting continued for the home side. Gaikwad (77 not out) progressively shifted gears along with a promoted Rinku Singh (48 not out) to add 87 runs off the last six overs, propelling India to 234 for two – their highest total against Zimbabwe.

Despite being short on a frontline bowler, India had enough ammunition to stop Zimbabwe’s pursuit 100 runs short of a gargantuan target, aberrating the abject display from last evening into an already fading memory.

Brief Scores: India 234/2 in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 100, Ruturaj Gaikwad 77 not out) beat Zimbabwe 134 in 18.4 overs (Wessly Madhevere 43; Avesh Khan 3/15) by 100 runs.

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