24-year-old India opener Abhishek Sharma followed in the footsteps of mentor Yuvraj Singh, as he slammed a swashbuckling fifty against England in the first T20I at Kolkata. In fact, Abhishek's 20-ball half-century was the second-fastest T20I fifty by an Indian against England, after Yuvraj's iconic 12-ball 50, during which he hit Stuart Broad for six sixes in an over. The former India all-rounder also typically puts up a tweet or two whenever Abhishek performs well, and was at his tongue-in-cheek best following the game.
Taking to X, Yuvraj praised Abhishek's performance with a slice of humour.
"Good start to the series boys! Great tone set by our bowlers and well played sir Abhishek Sharma, top knock!! I'm impressed you hit two boundaries down the ground as well," Yuvraj tweeted.
Abhishek finished with a terrific 79 off just 34 balls, at a strike rate over 232, helping India chase down a target of 133 in just 12.5 overs.
The left-hander laced his innings with five fours and eight sixes, showing a glimpse of the devastating form he had displayed during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season.
Besides Jofra Archer, Abhishek and the rest of the Indian batting took the England bowlers to the cleaners. Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid and Gus Atkinson all ended with economy rates in excess of 10.
Earlier, India had put up a complete bowling performance. Varun Chakravarthy impressed in his IPL home ground, picking up three wickets (3/23) and the Player of the Match award.
Arshdeep Singh displayed excellence with the new ball, getting the dangerous Phil Salt for nought and Ben Duckett for just 4. He ended with figures of 2/17 in four overs, and also became India's leading wicket-taker of all time in T20I cricket.
India next play England in the second T20I at Chepauk in Chennai, on January 25.