IND vs NZ: Former Indian captain opens up on Abhishek Sharma’s failure in the 4th T20I
Abhishek Sharma, who is currently going through a fantastic form and looking the biggest match-winner of the Indian team for the upcoming T20 World Cup, got a golden duck in the 4th T20I against New Zealand at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam. This is his second golden duck in the ongoing 5-match series. Before this, he also got out on a golden duck in the 2nd T20I at Raipur.
In order to chase a difficult 216-run total, the Indian team needed Abhishek Sharma to fire once again at the top of the order. Abhishek Sharma, as usual, tried to attack the first ball of the innings, but it took the top edge and went into the air, which was caught by Devon Conway with a brilliant dive at third man region.
Abhishek Sharma's wicket was a huge blow for India, as the Indian team was already chasing a mammoth target of 216 runs in the match. Moreover, Team India also came out with a short batter in this match. Ishan Kishan did not play in this match due to niggle, and the management included Arshdeep Singh in his place in the India playing XI. Team India could only score 165 runs.
Former Indian Test captain Ajinkya Rahane said that the way Abhishek is playing cricket, there will be many times when he will be out on the first & second ball. He has been playing aggressive cricket all this time. He further admitted that India entered the match with a batsman short, which ultimately proved to be the key factor between victory and defeat.
“With Abhishek Sharma, this is going to happen. He plays a high-risk game. When it comes off, he’ll be a match-winner—we all know that. But there will be times when he gets out for zero, even first ball. That can happen in a World Cup. I thought the Indian batting today wasn’t dependent on Abhishek Sharma alone. Collectively, they were very good. They played with seven batters, and you could clearly see the difference that having seven instead of eight makes in a side," Rahane said.
The visitors, New Zealand, defeated the hosts by 50 runs. With this, the Kiwi team finally tasted a victory in the T20I series. India has already sealed the series with 3 consecutive victories in the first 3 matches. The final match between India and New Zealand will be played at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram.
Despite having 2 golden ducks, Abhishek Sharma scored 152 runs in 4 innings, including 2 half-centuries. Abhishek amassed 84 runs in the first T20I, while his cricket score was 68 in the 3rd T20I. He will want to fire again in the final match and the upcoming World Cup as well.
