In the fifth and final T20 International, played at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai between India and England, Abhishek Sharma opened up about his celebration after reaching his half-century. He then turned this half-century into a memorable 100-the second quickest by an Indian after Rohit Sharma.
While facing the stands, Abhishek raises his right hand and makes an “L” symbol.
“I have done this whenever I reach a milestone. I just love doing it. This (gesture) is for Love,” said the 24-year-old to BCCI.tv.
The top order detonated across the Wankhede Stadium, unleashing a barrage of scoring to match the highest individual score ever made, including the highest individual T20I score from an Indian batter logged, 135 off just 54.
“I had never scored even 30 months prior to this series. I had envisaged how I would celebrate every single time I score centuries, but my mind went blank when I actually did it. Everything was pure emotion,” Abhishek told the press.
“I hit from the very first ball if it is my day. Luckily, it was day, and I’m forever thankful,” he noted.
Abhishek reiterated that such faith shown in him by the India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav and head coach Gautam Gambhir has played a great role in his performances.
“Surya paji and Gauti paji supported me in a lot of ways. They had more trust in me than I have in myself. The captain and the coach have asked us to maintain aggressive intent, which I totally like. I’m sure you will see more youngsters hitting this kind of innings, given all the support we get,” he said.
Abhishek’s remarkable performance at the top of the order helped India post 247 runs for the loss of 9 wickets within the span of 20 overs in front of an enthusiastic crowd. In response, the England innings was routed in no time as the team managed to score just 97 runs all out in 10.3 overs. India gained victory by 150 runs to clinch the five-match series by 4-1.
For his record-shattering performance, Abhishek earned the player-of-the-match award.
