Home
England suffered their biggest defeat in T20Is as they went down to India by 150 run in the final match of the five-match series at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on February 2, Sunday.
Jos Buttler rates Abhishek Sharma's knock one of the best
Meanwhile, despite losing the match England skipper Jos Buttler couldn't stop himself from praising India's match winner Abhishek Sharma who lit up the iconic Wankhede stadium with his explosive batting. Abhishek Sharma ran riot on England bowlers and cracked the second fastest T20I century for India, which came in just 37 balls. Abhishek's blistering 54-ball 135, which was studded with 13 sixes and 7 fours, saw India posting a colossal total of 247/9 on the board. In reply, England suffered a massive batting collapse and were folded for just 97 runs despite Phil Salt's 23-ball 55.
Buttler, during the post-match presentation said he has seen a lot of cricket but Abhishek's innings was one of the best he has seen so far.
"I've seen a lot of cricket, and I thought Abhishek's innings today was one of the best," Buttler said in the post-match presentation.
Buttler also rued England's hefty defeat in Mumbai and expressed his disappointment after the series loss.
"We're disappointed to lose the series, but we've done some things well and some things we want to improve on. We want to keep committing to this style of cricket and execute better. India are a fantastic side, especially at home, and we're better for the experience, the experience of great crowds like this at the Wankhede. Positives: Some of the guys' bowling performances - even today, Brydon Carse and Mark Wood were outstanding," he added.
Star southpaw led the charge as India posted their highest-ever powerplay score in T20Is, amassing 95 runs for the loss of just one wicket. Boundaries flowed freely, with Abhishek's explosive hitting propelling him to a 17-ball half-century. By the end of the powerplay, the left-hander had raced to 58 runs off just 21 deliveries.
Abhishek narrowly missed equaling Rohit Sharma's record for the fastest T20I century by an Indian, falling just two balls short. Rohit had achieved a 35-ball T20I century against Sri Lanka in 2017. Earlier in his innings, Abhishek had also registered a 17-ball half-century, the second-fastest by an Indian batsman, courtesy of a massive six off Jamie Overton in the fifth over.
India and England will now shift their focus on the upcoming ODI series which is scheduled to start from February 6.
