Sunil Gavaskar Gives Big Take On Abhishek Sharma's Heroics In 1st T20I Against New Zealand: 'Same Amount Of Balls'

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar shared a light-hearted moment with young batter Abhishek Sharma after the 1st T20I against New Zealand in Nagpur. The 25-year-old Abhishek slammed a 35-ball 84 as India beat New Zealand by 48 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. He took just 22 balls to complete his sixth half-century in the format. In awe of Abhishek's fearless hitting, the legendary batter highlighted the stark difference between the batting approach of modern-day players and his generation.

"He takes the same amount of balls to hit a half-century as what I used to take to get off the mark. There is a huge difference," Gavaskar said on Star Sports after the match.

Reflecting on his knock, Abhishek suggested that his high-strike-rate approach is deliberate "intent" rather than reckless play.

"We had a plan from day one and are just following it. I've figured out if you want to hit all balls or strike at 200, you have to carry intent. All teams have a plan for me. It's about my preparation. I'm going to back my instinct. I don't feel my role is high-risk, wouldn't say this is my comfort zone. But I've been practising to go big in the first six. I never do range-hitting. I'm more of a timing batter, I need to watch the ball and get used to the conditions. For it, I plan in my net session. I feel, if you watch your batting videos, you get an idea of where the bowler bowls to you," Abhishek said.

Abhishek was in fine flow in Nagpur despite India losing two early wickets -- his fellow opener Sanju Samson for 10 and Ishan Kishan, back in the side for the first time since 2023, for eight.

Skipper Suryakumar Yadav put on 99 runs for the third wicket with Abhishek, making a 22-ball 32.

Suryakumar, 35, started slowly but gained some momentum as he attempts to end his recent slump in form ahead of the World Cup.

Suryakumar, formerly the ICC's top-ranked T20I batsman, has failed to score a fifty in his 23 innings in the format dating back to October 2024.

(With AFP Inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team New Zealand Cricket Team Abhishek Sharma Sunil Gavaskar India vs New Zealand 2026 Cricket