Usually with Abhishek Sharma, you associate truckloads of runs that too in a handful of deliveries. His strike-rate of 193 is also one of the highest in the world. On top of that, he is also the no. 1 batter in the format, as per ICC rankings. But this T20 World Cup has been a bit of an aberration for the southpaw.
Abhishek Sharma gets three ducks
First he got a stomach bug and had to sit out of the Namibia match, and now, in the last three matches he has scored as many ducks. Yes, Abhishek Sharma got out to a third-ball duck yet again, this time vs Netherlands on Wednesday. In fact, the dismissal reminded one and all of the Pakistan encounter, where after two dots in the first over by Salman Ali Agha, the batter could not hold his horses, and attempted a big shot.
Unwanted record for IND opener
This time around, the bowler was off spinner Aryan Dutt. Talking about all his ducks — he got one vs USA, followed by PAK, and now, NED. This in fact is his fifth in the year, scoring a couple vs New Zealand in January, in the series gone by.
Talking about yet another record, Abhishek equalled the record for most consecutive ducks by an Indian — along with Washington Sundar. The latter went on to get three golden ducks back in 2019-2020, vs West Indies, Sri Lanka and New Zealand. That said, Abhishek might just be one innings from striking form again.
He still averages over 35 in the format in 40 matches and is already the most sought after name in the format. He had also gone on to score 84 and 68 in the same series vs New Zealand. So, India would be hoping for a turnaround again.
Cricket
Abhishek Sharma, World no.1 batter creates an unwanted record against Netherlands