By Karan Agrawal 
India’s opening batter Abhishek Sharma slammed a record-breaking ton in the fifth T20I against England in Wankhede Stadium on Sunday in front of a packed house. The left-hander hit 13 sixes in his innings of 135 runs which is the most by an Indian batter in T20I innings. It was Abhishek’s innings that took India to a match-winning total of 247 runs. The 24-year-old was well supported by Tilak Verma as the duo stitched a partnership of 115 runs for the second wicket with Abhishek being the aggressor.
The Record
Abhishek notched up his ton in just 37 balls and became the second fastest Indian batter to get to the milestone ( in terms of balls) after Rohit Sharma who holds the record for scoring the fastest hundred along with South Africa’s David Miller among test-playing nations. The duo scored their respective centuries in 35 balls.
The Praise
Following Abhishek’s swashbuckling innings former Indian batter Yuvraj Singh who has been mentoring several young Indian batters including Abhishek Sharma took to social media platform ‘X’ to congratulate Abhishek for his second hundred in T20I “Well played @IamAbhiSharma4! That’s where I want to see you! Proud of you” wrote Yuvraj.
The Reaction
Reacting to Yuvraj’s post Abhishek Sharma said this is the first instance when Yuvraj hasn’t scolded him. “I think this is the first time Yuvraj has tweeted something without adding ‘I will send a chappal.’ Finally, he is proud of me. So I’m very happy,” said Abhishek.
Talking about his experience of working with Yuvraj Singh Abhishek Sharma said “Three years ago, when I started working with him, he always told me that, as a player, doubts are natural. But he always reassured me, saying, ‘You will be there, and you will perform. You will win matches for India.”
“I remember during our training camp in COVID times, he repeatedly told me, ‘don’t think short-term. I’m preparing you for the long run.’ Now that things are coming together, I am really happy,” he added.