Abhishek Sharma on Sunday suffered his second consecutive failure with the bat when he was dismissed without scoring during India’s emphatic 61-run victory over arch-rival Pakistan in Colombo. The No.1 ranked T20I batter in the world is yet to score through two innings at the tournament. He had missed the second India match because of illness.
His failure at the top, however, has not stopped India from keeping a clean slate but Abhishek remains a key cog in India’s strategy and the team will be keen that he comes out of the slump soon.
Former India player and coach Ravi Shastri urged Abhishek to be a little bit more patient early in his innings during the remainder of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Shastri said Abhishek should use a little bit more patience when at the crease as his scoring opportunities will open up later in his innings once he is set.
The former World Cupper knows Abhishek will be required to discover his best form at the pointy end of the event when the stakes are raised and the opposition is even tougher. “I think he’s due, but he just has to give himself a little bit of time,” Shastri told Sanjana Ganesan after India’s triumph over Pakistan.
“Such things happen and you can go off the boil, but he’s just got to give himself a little more time until he gets back on track.
“Because for him to convert those dot balls later on into boundaries and sixes, is not difficult.”
Shastri lauds Kishan’s assessment of conditions
With Abhishek somewhat subdued it has been Ishan Kishan that has filled the void and the talented left-hander produced a superb knock against Pakistan as he smashed 77 from just 40 deliveries to pick up the Player of the Match award.
It was Kishan’s second consecutive half-century at the T20 World Cup and Shastri believes the talented 27-year-old is currently at the top of his game. “He’s batting like a dream at the moment,” Shastri exclaimed.
“Striking on that track (Colombo pitch) at close to 200 is unreal.
“Every batter didn’t find it easy, whether it was Indian or Pakistani, because the ball was stopping and for him to strike the way he did, and what I liked was how quickly he assessed the conditions.”
