By Karan Agrawal 
India’s young opening batter Abhishek Sharma scored a breathtaking century in the fifth T20I against England at the iconic Wankhede stadium in Mumbai. The 24-year-old left-hander broke several records in his innings of 135 runs which includes the second fastest half-century by an Indian in T20I. Abhishek is now just behind his mentor Yuvraj Singh who holds that particular record. The former all-rounder scored fifty of just 12 balls in the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup against England. Abhishek also holds the record for the second fastest century by an Indian in T20I with World Cup-winning captain Rohit Sharma taking the top spot. Along with it, Abhishek now has the record for the highest Individual score by an Indian in T20I registered to his name.
The Celebration
Other than the innings it was Abhishek’s celebration that caught everyone’s attention. The left-hander made a special gesture after completing his half-century something which has become synonymous with the 24-year-old. Talking about the celebration Abhishek Sharma said “This is ‘Love’.” When asked about how he felt after completing his second hundred in T20 international Abhishek said “I used to manifest this – how I would celebrate if I score a century. But when it happened, I was totally blank. All the emotions were natural.”
The Approach
Abhishek has made a name for himself as a batter who goes for his shot right from the word go. When asked about his approach the left-hander said that if he feels that the ball is in his arc he will look to clear the boundary even if it is the first ball of the match. “I know that whenever it is my day, I will go for it even if it is just the first ball of the match. Today, luckily, it was my day. So, very grateful,” he said.
The Backing
Talking about the role of Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar Yadav in backing him Abhishek said that the duo keeps him motivated and believes in him more than he does in himself “I felt they believe in me more than I believe in myself. I got a lot of motivation from that. I really like that the captain and coach have maintained that we have to keep an aggressive intent. It’s a great thing to hear from a captain or coach,” he said.