Yuvraj Singh can't keep calm, ‘knights’ Abhishek Sharma after India opener returns to form with maiden World Cup fifty

Abhishek Sharma scored 55 runs in 30 balls against Zimbabwe in Chennai. Here's what Yuvraj Singh said about the knock.

Updated on: Feb 27, 2026, 08:48:07 IST

Written by Vishesh Roy

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After two weeks of toiling hard in the middle, Abhishek Sharma finally found his mojo in the T20 World Cup 2026, registering his first fifty in the tournament on Thursday. The left-handed batter from Punjab scored 55 runs in 30 balls against Zimbabwe with the help of four sixes and as many boundaries to set up the base for the defending champions to post more than 250 runs on the board. Before the must-win contest at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, Abhishek had just managed 15 runs, including three ducks.

Abhishek Sharma plays a shot during the match against Zimbabwe. (AFP) (HT_PRINT)

However, Zimbabwe erred big time with their tactics, deciding not to introduce a spinner in the powerplay, which let Abhishek get his eye in and tee off almost immediately. Abhishek mixed caution with aggression, and even showed the stomach to rotate the strike rather than go big on every ball.

Tinotenda Maposa eventually sent Abhishek back to the pavilion, but by then the batter had already done his job of keeping India in front of the game. The latest knock by the No.1 T20I batter in the world also impressed his mentor, Yuvraj Singh.

Also Read: Gautam Gambhir wastes no time, launches animated coaching session with Abhishek Sharma in team bus after Chennai landing

The 2007 T20 World Cup-winning all-rounder congratulated Abhishek on a good innings and asked him to “keep pushing.”

“The best chatter is when you let the bat do all the talking. Good innings, sir Abhishek, keep pushing,” Yuvraj wrote on Instagram Stories.

Change of partners

For the match against Zimbabwe, India made two changes to its playing XI, bringing in Sanju Samson and Axar Patel for Rinku Singh and Washington Sundar. Samson came out to open alongside Abhishek, and the left-right combination forced Zimbabwe not to bowl an off-spinner inside the powerplay.

With pacers bowling with the field restrictions, Abhishek and Sanju went after the attack right from the very start, putting on a stand of 48 runs. Sanju scored 24 runs before walking back to the dressing room in the fourth over.

Hardik Pandya also scored a half-century as India posted 256/4 in the allotted twenty overs. Arshdeep Singh then returned with three wickets as Zimbabwe were restricted to 184, helping India win by 72 runs.

India will now take on the West Indies at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on March 1, and the winner will qualify for the semi-finals.

Mohammad Amir's comment about Abhishek

Earlier, former Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir sparked a controversy after he labelled Abhishek as just a “slogger”, who doesn't have any defensive gear in his batting. This comment led to several Indian fans trolling him on social media as well.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Vishesh Roy
Vishesh Roy is a sports journalist with a strong focus on cricket. He began his career at Asian News International (ANI), where he covered a range of high-profile events, including the India Open, Legends Cricket League, the England–India Test series in Ahmedabad in 2021, and the inauguration of the Narendra Modi Stadium. During his tenure at ANI, he also reported extensively on domestic cricket, covering several Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy matches across the country. While cricket remains his primary beat, Vishesh has also reported on tennis, football and WWE. After a stint of over three years at ANI, Vishesh moved to NDTV, where he gained hands-on experience in digital-first journalism, with a particular emphasis on live blogs and real-time news reporting. He joined Hindustan Times in October 2024 and quickly established himself with a series of exclusive interviews and source-driven stories. Ahead of the IPL 2025 auction, Hindustan Times was the first to report that the two-day event would be held in Saudi Arabia. In the early months of his tenure, Vishesh secured interviews with leading cricketers, including Pat Cummins, Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Rashid Latif. He has also closely tracked the rise of emerging talents such as Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Priyansh Arya by speaking to their current and childhood coaches. His background in on-field reporting has helped Hindustan Times Digital break exclusive stories on major developments, including Virat Kohli’s return to the Ranji and Vijay Hazare Trophy, IPL scheduling, and the T20 World Cup controversy involving Bangladesh and Pakistan.Read More

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