Pakistan poked the bear and paid for it. Young Indian opener Abhishek Sharma hit boundaries for fun, making the Dubai pitch look like a flat deck. Abhishek’s strokeplay left former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin impressed. Ashwin went on to say that this is just start of what Abhishek can do and he will blow to cricketing world, becoming batter that his mentor Yuvraj Singh.
"I want to tell you that this is not the arrival of Abhishek Sharma, this is just the beginning. He has just started, and he has a long future ahead. He is going to blow the cricketing world apart," Ashwin said on his Youtube channel.
"Take that in writing. He has so much ability, just like how Yuvraj Singh became India's marquee white-ball cricketer. The best white-ball batter in limited-overs cricket for India. He can reach that level easily. I think he is going to carry Yuvraj's legacy forward. He is a phenomenal talent."
Ashwin surprised by Abhishek's bat swing
Abhishek’s knock featured six fours and five sixes. But, it was the southpaw’s lofted drive over covers against spinner Saim Ayub that reminded Ashwin of his former captain MS Dhoni's trademark helicopter shot.
"Abhishek Sharma hit an inside-out MS Dhoni-style helicopter cover drive. Everybody will talk about the five sixes that he hit, but I want to talk about this cover drive, because there was finesse in this shot.
"Despite only having one bat swing, he can adjust his downswing. If a batter can make the game look that simple, then why would you not want to watch him day in and day out?" Ashwin said.
Massive partnership, Varma finishes it off after Abhishek-Gill carnage
Ashwin shared a 105-run opening stand with vice-captain Shubman Gill. Before the departure of Gill on the fifth ball of the 10th over, India had already pushed Pakistan on the back foot. In the run chase of 172, Abhishek lost his wicket in the 13th over. Captain Suryakumar Yadav got out for a three-ball duck whereas Sanju Samson struggled to score in slog overs but Tilak Varma ensured India got over the line in the penultimate over and beat Pakistan by six wickets.