slammed India‘s second-fastest half-century in T20Is by hammering a 14-ball fifty against New Zealand in the third T20I. Abhishek broke his team-mate Hardik Pandya’s record of getting to 50 in just 16 balls against South Africa only last month and remains behind his mentor Yuvraj Singh, who still holds the record of a 12-ball fifty against England in 2007, when he had smoked six sixes in an over off Stuart Broad.
Abhishek set the tone for his knock by dancing down on his first ball in the second over and clobbering an 88-meter six on the leg side. He ended the over with an upper cut off Jacob Duffy for four and ended the next over with a four and a six by making room on consecutive deliveries. On 23 off six balls, He next got strike at the end of the fourth and ended that one with a boundary too, by smacking one over Ish Sodhi’s head.
His third six was a pull off a Matt Henry short ball in the fifth over and after taking a single on the last ball, he went 4, 1, 4 and 6 in the sixth to reach his fifty off 14 balls and give India a powerplay score of 94, which is India’s second-highest powerplay score in men’s T20Is, behind the 95 for 1 vs England at Wankhede last year.
Abhishek finished with an unbeaten on 68 off 20 balls, studded with seven fours and five sixes in India’s eight-wicket win.
