With his historic tally of 135, caught his coach and Yuvraj Singh in the act of rewarding the former Indian cricketer for having long pressed on the young opener to score big. India got a 150-run victory against England, asking them to chase 248 but bowling them out for an abysmal 97.
Abhishek hit the perfect balance between staying till the end of the innings and his aggressive flair. The second fastest hundred by an Indian — off just 37 balls – was scored, and he stayed still going till the 18th over before having his highest mark in T20.
He credited Gautam Gambhir, the head coach, and Suryakumar Yadav, the captain, for giving him the freedom, alongside Yuvraj, who has been a mentor to him for a large part of his recent career.
“It’s special, representing the country; always feels great. Whenever I see it’s my day, I try to score from the first ball. The kind of trust the coach and the captain had in me from Day 1.” “They have always backed me; they have always wanted me to take the initiative. When the opponents are bowling at 140-150, be a little early and react to the ball and hire your shots. Hitting Jofra Archer for a cover drive is always nice but I really liked the shots I played against Adil Rashid as well. Yuvraj must be happy today; he’s always wanted me to bat until the 15th, 20th overs and I tried to implement that,” Abhishek said.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Yuvraj had a special session with Abhishek and a number of other Punjab cricketers, focusing on fitness and mental toughness. He has made it a point to check in on him regularly, offering feedback on his nets footage and even providing social media encouragement.
Shivam Dube, who made the second-highest runs for India in the first innings for an impactful 30 runs off 13 balls and took a couple of wickets in the next innings, thanked Abhishek for the in-between advice in the innings.
“Feels great to play as an all-rounder. I have been doing this for quite a long time. I was truly excited to bowl. I could not bowl in the last match, but I knew that I would be bowling today. He told me that the wicket was good and to play my shots. I just played my shots because I didn’t want to let the run flow down. Bowling coach Morne Morkel has helped me with my angles. I got the opportunity today with the ball and I did well,” Dube said.
Then, the team will be playing three ODIs against England beginning February 6.
