Abhishek Sharma on his fiery exchanges with Pakistan as he blitzed his way to an imperious 39-ball 74 in Dubai.
Abhishek Sharma: Didn’t like Pakistan ‘coming at us without any reason’.
Abhishek Sharma described his innings as a response to Pakistan for “coming at us without any reason” prior to leading India to a six-wicket victory with a 39-ball 74.
India’s refusal to shake hands with Pakistan’s players during this Asia Cup has resulted in heightened political tensions between the two nations. Pakistan’s ire at this has escalated into a protest against match referee Andy Pycroft, which at one point threatened to turn into a boycott.
India openers Abhishek and Shubman Gill and Pakistan fast bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf engaged in heated arguments during Sunday’s Super Fours match, the two sides’ second encounter of the competition.
Additionally, Rauf was filmed by supporters gesturing to the audience. When a group of Indian fans heckled him with ‘Kohli, Kohli’ chants, he raised his hands and seemed to point to the number six before making further motions that resembled an aeroplane taking off and landing.
“Today, it was pretty simple,” Abhishek said while receiving the Player-of-the-Match award. “The way they were coming at us without any reason, I didn’t like it at all. And I thought that this is the only [answer] that I could give with my bat and obviously [contribute] with the win towards my team. That’s all that was going through my mind. I just wanted to deliver for my team.”
With six fours and five sixes in his innings, Abhishek almost sealed the victory for India. He improved on last week’s group-stage encounter, where he smashed the left-arm fast for a first-ball four, by starting the innings with a first-ball six off Afridi.
“I feel it’s very important for the team because if you see someone playing like this, they need really good support from the captain and the coach,” Abhishek said about his high-risk batting style. “I feel that’s what I’m getting from my team and that’s the intent they want me to show in all the games.
“That’s how I want to play because I’ve been practising really hard for this. If it’s my day, I’m going to make sure that we win the game.”