Playing just his second T20I, the 23-year-old all-rounder scored an impressive 46-ball hundred on Sunday. The 46-ball ton is the third-fastest by an Indian batsman in men's T20Is. Rohit Sharma's 35-ball century in 2017 and Suryakumar Yadav's 45-ball ton in 2023, both against Sri Lanka, are the two fastest tons for India, while KL Rahul also had a 46-ball hundred against the Indies. Westerners in 2016.
"This is all because of the hard work I have done. A special thanks to my father, who always encouraged me to play overhead shots, even when I was a kid. Usually, coaches don't allow you to play overhead shots much. My Dad used to telling me that if you want to take a high shot, you have to do it from the ground. For me, since my childhood it has always been present that if I am confident, I like to express myself," Abhishek said. who hit eight sixes in his blistering knock, in a post-match presser.
The youngster quickly reached his half-century with a six and then topped it off with three consecutive sixes in the 14th over to complete his century, making him the first Indian to achieve this feat in men's international cricket. Shubman Gill did something similar, but his consecutive six took him to 200 in an ODI against New Zealand in 2023.
The young opener also revealed that he used his childhood friend and under-19 teammate Gill's bat in the second T20I, something he has also done regularly in the past.
Gill and Abhishek started playing together at the under-12 level. The duo also played together in the ICC Under-19 Men's Cricket World Cup 2018, where India took the title.
"The journey has been very nice. When we started playing, we were between 10 and 11 years old and we played together since the U12 category. The ultimate goal was to represent the country. I have already said before that the first call I received (about the national team) It was from Shubman and I was very happy.
"I played with his [Shubman's] bat today and it went very well. Special thanks to him for the bat. This has been happening since the U12 days, every time I think it's a pressure game or it's a game I should play, I take his bat Even in the IPL I ask for his bat. Even today, I did very well,” Abhishek said.
Abhishek further attributed the young players' smooth transition to the national team to the Indian Premier League experience that helped them handle the pressure.
"I think the IPL plays a big role in this because as a youngster, as a debutant, we don't feel much pressure when we come to represent the country. It's always a big motivation once you play for the country. Unfortunately, it didn't go well in the yesterday's game, but my mentality and my intention were the same.
"I also spoke to the other debutants, we've all played cricket together for a long time, since the U14 days I would say. I think it's all about approach in T20, about intent. If I show intent and if it's On my day, usually everything It's like that," Abhishek said.
Abhishek admitted that the players were disappointed after losing the first match of the series, especially since the title team had won the T20 World Cup.
"Losing such a match after the country won the T20 World Cup was disappointing for the players. But still, we were all young and have been playing together and against each other since childhood.
"So none of us went into our shell after losing, but we were all together and thinking about the hard work we did for all those years and how this is the ultimate goal for all of us, so we should enjoy and focus in the next". The mentality was to forget what happened and focus on the next game," he concluded.
"This is all because of the hard work I have done. A special thanks to my father, who always encouraged me to play overhead shots, even when I was a kid. Usually, coaches don't allow you to play overhead shots much. My Dad used to telling me that if you want to take a high shot, you have to do it from the ground. For me, since my childhood it has always been present that if I am confident, I like to express myself," Abhishek said. who hit eight sixes in his blistering knock, in a post-match presser.
The youngster quickly reached his half-century with a six and then topped it off with three consecutive sixes in the 14th over to complete his century, making him the first Indian to achieve this feat in men's international cricket. Shubman Gill did something similar, but his consecutive six took him to 200 in an ODI against New Zealand in 2023.
The young opener also revealed that he used his childhood friend and under-19 teammate Gill's bat in the second T20I, something he has also done regularly in the past.
Gill and Abhishek started playing together at the under-12 level. The duo also played together in the ICC Under-19 Men's Cricket World Cup 2018, where India took the title.
"The journey has been very nice. When we started playing, we were between 10 and 11 years old and we played together since the U12 category. The ultimate goal was to represent the country. I have already said before that the first call I received (about the national team) It was from Shubman and I was very happy.
"I played with his [Shubman's] bat today and it went very well. Special thanks to him for the bat. This has been happening since the U12 days, every time I think it's a pressure game or it's a game I should play, I take his bat Even in the IPL I ask for his bat. Even today, I did very well,” Abhishek said.
Abhishek further attributed the young players' smooth transition to the national team to the Indian Premier League experience that helped them handle the pressure.
"I think the IPL plays a big role in this because as a youngster, as a debutant, we don't feel much pressure when we come to represent the country. It's always a big motivation once you play for the country. Unfortunately, it didn't go well in the yesterday's game, but my mentality and my intention were the same.
"I also spoke to the other debutants, we've all played cricket together for a long time, since the U14 days I would say. I think it's all about approach in T20, about intent. If I show intent and if it's On my day, usually everything It's like that," Abhishek said.
Abhishek admitted that the players were disappointed after losing the first match of the series, especially since the title team had won the T20 World Cup.
"Losing such a match after the country won the T20 World Cup was disappointing for the players. But still, we were all young and have been playing together and against each other since childhood.
"So none of us went into our shell after losing, but we were all together and thinking about the hard work we did for all those years and how this is the ultimate goal for all of us, so we should enjoy and focus in the next". The mentality was to forget what happened and focus on the next game," he concluded.
