On September 21, Pakistan pacers seemed to cross the line as they wanted to get the better of Indian openers by hook or crook. Sledging is a part of the game from ages but they stooped to a new low with ‘personal attacks’ as Abhishek Sharma said after India’s another thumping win over Pakistan. Abhishek, in a conversation with former opener Virender Sehwag, said that Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf tried to rile them up with personal attacks after every ball was bowled. However, they got a befitting reply from the young openers who have batted together since teenage years.
“Paaji, today, I think I needed to do something because I didn’t like what was happening," he said in a post-match conversation with Sony Sports Network.
“The words that were being said… after every ball, they were making personal attacks. Shubman Gill and I were talking about it — that we’ll win our team the match and give them a befitting reply," he added.
Like he did in the group stage encounter, Abhishek nullified the Afridi threat once again. He welcomed him with a six off the first ball. Shubman Gill gave similar treatment to Afridi, hitting him for two fours in his second over. Rauf was brought into the attack in the fifth over and Abhishek, Gill hit him for a four each. In-between there were plenty heated exchanges and the umpire had to intervene often.
When Rauf returned to bowl, India were already in the driver's seat. Abhishek had reached his fifty from just 24 balls, fastest for India against Pakistan in T20Is, breaking his mentor Yuvraj Singh's 13-year-old record. While Afridi conceded 40 runs from 3.5 overs, Rauf made a comeback with the wickets of Suryakumar Yadav and Sanju Samson. But, it wasn't enough to stage Pakistan's comeback in the game.
Pakistan players’ provocation act falls flat
Meanwhile, Pakistan players were far from professional about their approach. Miffed by the handshake snub, Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan resorted to gun celebration after reaching his fifty. He ended up scoring at a slower rate after that. Rauf was teased by chants of ‘Kohli-Kohli’ from the crowd, reminding him of Virat Kohli’s onslaught against him in T20 World Cup 2022 final. He replied to the crowd like any other Pakistan troll on social media peddling false narrative/fake news related to India-Pakistan military conflict earlier this year following the terrorist attack in Pahalgam.