Abhishek Sharma played a blazing knock in the third T20I vs West Indies. He scored 69 runs off 30 balls, and during the inning, became the fastest batter to 2000 T20I runs. Abhishek broke Suryakumar Yadav's record, who had topped the list previously.
After West Indies chased down 249 against India two evenings ago, Abhishek, who already has made a name for himself with his ultra-aggressive approach in the powerplay, came out all guns blazing in Indore, with an intention of posting something even bigger.
India lost Sanju Samson early, but that did not faze Abhishek. He batted in his trademark style and reached a fifty off just 18 deliveries. He injected tremendous momentum into the Indian innings, and as long as he was batting, the hosts were cruising. Abhishek was dismissed for 69 off 30 balls with India on 124 and one delivery remaining in the 10th over.
Abhishek Sharma surpasses Suryakumar Yadav's T20I record
Abhishek surpassed India’s former captain, Suryakumar Yadav, to become the fastest to 2,000 T20I runs in terms of deliveries faced. Abhishek reached the landmark off just 1,024 balls, while Surya achieved it in 1,164 deliveries. Abhishek bettered the record by 140 balls.
{{/usCountry}}Abhishek surpassed India’s former captain, Suryakumar Yadav, to become the fastest to 2,000 T20I runs in terms of deliveries faced. Abhishek reached the landmark off just 1,024 balls, while Surya achieved it in 1,164 deliveries. Abhishek bettered the record by 140 balls.
{{/usCountry}}This list includes some of the most destructive batters. Australia’s Aaron Finch is the third-fastest to have reached the 2,000-run mark, achieving it off 1,283 deliveries, followed by Glenn Maxwell, who did it in 1,304 deliveries. The previous distinctions were achieved at an already extraordinary pace by T20 standards; however, Abhishek pushed the boundaries of positive cricket even further.
One could argue that barring Finch, the other names on the list are middle-order batters who did not always have the advantage of batting during fielding restrictions. But time and again, Abhishek has shown that the field setting does not particularly influence his batting style.
Abhishek became the sixth Indian to score 2,000 runs in T20Is. The other five Indian batters on the list are Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul. However, Sharma has scored these runs at a strike-rate of more than 195 and an average above 32, combining remarkable consistency with relentless power-hitting.
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After Abhishek’s carnage, West Indies, the visitors staged a brilliant comeback in the middle overs. India scored 87 runs in the first six overs for the loss of a single wicket, but Windies did not give up. They picked up five wickets in the next ten, allowing India to score only 87 more. This considerably curtailed India’s scoring rate. The total, which at one stage looked set to surpass the 250 mark, was eventually restricted to 224 at the end of 20 overs.