Abhishek Sharma (Pic credit: BCCI)
The left-hander’s explosive 30-ball 69 proved decisive as India defeated the West Indies by 14 runs in the third T20I to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series. West Indies all-rounder Shamar Springer later revealed that the visitors’ Plan B against the in-form opener was to adopt a defensive approach and restrict him to singles and twos rather than allow him to continue his big-hitting spree.
Abhishek smashed six fours and five sixes, recording his 14th T20I half-century and becoming the fastest player to reach 2,000 runs in the format in terms of balls faced. His 108-run partnership with Ishan Kishan , who scored 37, helped India post 223 before the bowlers held their nerve to restrict the visitors to 209/7.
Nothing too extravagant,” Springer told reporters after the match. “I wouldn’t say it was deliberate, but it was there in my mind that they had a plan against me,” Abhishek said. “West Indies is such a team that you can never say that the match is now on our side,” he said, recalling how the opposition’s batters had shown their ability to change the course of a game. “That was in our mind because we saw in the last match that whichever batsman comes in, (with) the conditions that we have here, it is very easy for them to take the match to their side.”
With Abhishek initially taking on Roston Chase’s off-spin, the West Indies had to reconsider their approach against the dangerous opener. Springer explained that the team decided to focus on damage control rather than attempt an aggressive dismissal. “He is a world-class player. Kudos to him, for sure. But I guess our plan B is to just be as defensive as possible and try to make him get singles and twos, running at moments. The strategy, however, could not prevent Abhishek from giving India a flying start. The opener’s assault provided the home side with the cushion they needed to withstand a late West Indies charge.