While the Indian management has played a waiting game as far as Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is concerned, there’s pretty much baggage around the back of Indian batters’ minds. All the top-order batters would be feeling that a trainwreck that is the 15-year-old can break into the team anytime. But for Abhishek Sharma, he is doing everything to make his spot a certainty. He has been on a roll recently and has done himself a huge favour by smoking a 24-ball 59 in the opening T20 international against England in Durham on Wednesday.
Abhishek Sharma mauls England
While Sanju Samson has struggled and is making it tough for himself, with Sooryavanshi breathing down his neck. Abhishek has been on a roll. He outscored Samson in the IPL after making 563 runs at an unbelievable strike rate of 204.73. Then against Ireland, Abhishek almost scored a fifty again. Samson, meanwhile, scored 5 and 0 in Ireland.
Now, Abhishek has started the five-match T20I series against England on a high. While the other Indian batters took time in Durham, Abhishek was menacing right from the start. Till his 20-ball fifty, Abhishek hammered a boundary in every over. He started on the second ball itself, going over the infield in his typical ‘slicing’ manner.
Saqib Mahmood bore the massive brunt as he was taken away for 17 runs in five balls by the southpaw. When the English pacer dug in short, Abhishek was quick to hammer it square. Just like he showed his penchant to score in pacy conditions in Australia, Abhishek did it again in his first appearance in England.
He got to his fifty in just 20 balls, which is now the fifth instance of him getting there in below 20 balls. That’s just amazing. Although he lost his numero uno T20I spot in terms of rankings today, Abhishek will surely regain it if he continues in this fashion. In his innings, Abhishek also broke the record for smashing 100 T20I sixes in the fewest balls. Catch the table below.
Least Balls Taken to Reach 100 Sixes in T20Is
| Rank | Batter | Balls Faced |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Abhishek Sharma* (IND) | 785 |
| 2 | Evin Lewis (WI) | 789 |
| 3 | Finn Allen (NZ) | 871 |
| 4 | Tim David (AUS) | 931 |
| 5 | Colin Munro (NZ) | 963 |
Abhishek Sharma vs England in T20Is (2025-26)
- 347 runs in 7 innings
- Average: 49.57
- Strike Rate: 219.62
- 1 century and 2 fifties
- 32 fours and 26 sixes
- Highest score: 135
Not long ago, Abhishek was getting criticised left, right and center for his non-performance at the T20 World Cup 2026. The runs were just not coming off his bat in the marquee tournament. He started the World Cup with as many as three consecutive ducks. Then, a rare fifty against Zimbabwe came but he was still not in form. However, he showed up when it mattered the most, hammering a magnificent fifty against New Zealand in the final. Although Samson was the star of that tournament, the contrast in form of the two openers is eye-opening.
Most 50s for India in T20Is (20 Balls or Fewer)
| Rank | Player(s) | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Abhishek Sharma | 5 |
| 2 | Yuvraj Singh | 3 |
| 3 | Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir, Axar Patel, Ishan Kishan | 1 each |
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