SMAT: Abhishek Sharma continues to shine, smokes another fiery fifty
What's the story
Extending his sensational run in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy, Punjab captain Abhishek Sharma put on a batting masterclass in the Elite Group C match against Baroda in Hyderabad. He scored a blistering 50 off just 19 balls, hitting five fours and four sixes at an impressive strike rate of 263.16. This knock came right after his record-breaking 148 against Bengal in his preceding outing. Here are further details.
Game status
Abishek puts Punjab on top
Batting first in the game, Punjab were off to a flier with Abhishek hammering one boundary after another. He made great utilization of the powerplay overs and brought up yet another fiery fifty. His innings came to an end when Raj Limbani dismissed him, with wicket-keeper Jitesh Sharma taking the catch. At the time of Abishek's dismissal, Punjab was in a commanding position at 98/2 in 7.3 overs with a run rate of over 13.
Historic performance
Abhishek Sharma's record-breaking innings
Meanwhile, Abhishek's recent innings of 52-ball 148 against Bengal marked the joint second-fastest T20 fifty by an Indian, off just 12 balls. He hit a whopping 16 sixes during his innings, five of which came against Mohammed Shami and Akash Deep. His incredible strike rate of over 284.62 saw him hit more sixes than singles at one point in the innings. The southpaw's hundred came off
Stats
Over 4,500 runs in T20Is
It must be noted that Abhishek has become India's mainstay opener in T20Is since his debut last year. Coming to his T20 numbers, he now owns 4,719 runs from 162 matches at an average of 33. His strike rate is a stunning 170.79 as his tally includes eight tons and 27 fifties. Five of his tons and 1,727 of his runs have come in SMAT at 39.25 (SR: 166.69). No other batter has more than three tons in the competition.