Clean Bowled By Abhishek Sharma, McCullum's 'Gayle, ABD' Verdict For Star

India's knight in shining armour, Abhishek Sharma, brought the entire cricket world to a stand-still with his breathtaking 54-ball 135 in the 5th T20I against England. Be it India captain Suryakumar Yadav, head coach Gautam Gambhir, England skipper Jos Buttler or even its coach Brendon McCullum, Abishek has received praise from every corner of the cricketing spectrum. McCullum, who was one of the finest hitters of the ball during his active days, has hailed Abhishek's innings as the best he has ever witnessed in the shortest format of the game.

Abhishek didn't spare any of England's bowlers. Even when he came against Jofra Archer, a marquee pacer who troubled Indian batters the most this series, also faced the left-hander's wrath.

"First and foremost, the innings we saw from Abhishek is as good an innings as we've ever witnessed in T20 cricket. He's not just doing it against any attack, he's doing it against four guys who bowl 90mph and an absolute gun leg-spinner,' McCullum was quoted as saying by India Today.

"I'm very realistic that when I see someone come out of the telephone box and play an innings like that, sometimes you throw all the different plans you want at it but if he's hitting it like that, you really can't stop it. We've seen so many players over the years in this format that have been able to do it - Chris Gayle, Aaron Finch, AB de Villiers - and maybe Abishek Sharma is putting his hand up as one of those players," he added.

Abhishek's knock, laced with seven fours and 13 sixes, was not an inning, but rather a statement served to world cricket in front of a Wankhede Stadium packed with celebrities and personalities including Mukesh Ambani, Aamir Khan, Rajeev Shukla, Amitabh Bachchan, and Abhishek Bachchan. It was a message that no matter what bowling speed, variation, or status, a bowler would be sent to cleaners if the ball was there to be hit. A new India T20I line-up is emerging and Abhishek could very well be at its helm soon.

Be it express pace specialists Jofra Archer and Mark Wood or the number one T20I bowler Adil Rashid, considered as the greatest England leg-spinner, or other bowlers filling up the rest of the overs, everyone was treated with absolute disdain. The 140 kmph-plus rockets by Archer and Wood met the sweet spot of left-hander's bat easily and the youngster used their pace to his advantage. Rashid's line and length, which troubled India for a game or two, lost its magic in front of Abhishek's willow.

Numerous records were broken. Sharma's knock is India's highest T20I individual score, outdoing 126* by Shubman Gill against New Zealand in Ahmedabad in 2023. 

With ANI Inputs