Abhishek's attack mode sets him apart

At a time when six-hitting has ceased to evoke the spectacular anymore, Abhishek Sharma's bellicose innings at Eden Gardens on Wednesday offers a fresh perspective to the nouveau concept of batters 'expressing' themselves.

- Somshuvra Laha

KOLKATA:

Very few actually walk the talk but with Sharma it seems to have assumed the status of the first and the last resort, a scoring shot he would seek both in desperation as well as ease.

Get this: 48 of his 34-ball 79 runs on Wednesday came in sixes. Of the 335 runs he has scored in T20Is so far, 270 have come in 54 boundary hits, 27 of them sixes. Every time he scores above 20 in T20Is, Sharma strikes comfortably over 200 and India win.

You can trace this penchant for sixes to his IPL career as well, specifically 2024 where Sharma hit more sixes (42) than fours (36) in a staggering season for Sunrisers Hyderabad, aggregating 484 runs at a strike rate of 204.22. Very few carry their IPL form to international cricket but in Sharma's case, continuity of role (Sharma opens for SRH as well) has helped. And also the backing that he will be given a long rope irrespective of results. Sharma couldn't go past 16 in seven innings last year. His last three innings though? 50 off 25 balls, 36 off 18, and 79 off 34.