India Vs England 5th T20 Match Report
The Wankhede Stadium during its scintillating glamour of February 2, 2025, became the theater of third T20I between India and England and India won by a whopping margin of 150 runs. What proved to be the match-turner was undoubtedly Abhishek Sharma’s breathtaking-feeling century-a feat, which for long will be cherished in T20 cricket.
Indian innings began on a slow note, but Abhishek Sharma was going to come out all guns blazing. Coming in at No. 2, after the early dismissal of Sanju Samson for 16, Sharma was in no mood to settle down. From the outset, he was positive behind the seams, effortlessly mixing classic cricket shots with courageous strokes, intimidating all those who bowled to him.
Sharma’s innings was an excellent lesson in T20 batting. In the early stages of his innings, he found the boundary with great ease, pounding the ball to all quarters of the ground. His strategy was simple: capitalize on the enemies when they offered anything that he could take advantage of. It was in these situations that the pace and precision of Jofra Archer had no answer for Sharma with its huge repertoire of variations.
When Sharma began targeting the shorter boundaries of Wankhede with the help of great work bottom hand, this was the turning point in his innings, with the ball sailing away cleared with great regularity. He was empirical about six-hitting as it was not simply thrust but rather a very engineered effort in hitting it every time and at everywhere he could afford. He cleared the fence 13 times, a mix of straight drives, powerful pulls, and lofted shots over long-on and long-off.
By the time Sr Sharma reached his fifty, it was clear to all that he was in a league of his own; but what happened next was simply phenomenal. He didn’t reach out and touch, but measure an inning with an eye on the rev counter and go further. A staggering 250 was his strike rate. He coolly crushed his century in a mere 47 balls, again proving he knew a thing or two about switching gears in this high-octane format. The innings was peppered with four boundaries and it was the big hits that continued to create an impression on their land.
His innings came to a stunning halt when he was caught off Adil Rashid in the 18th over for 135 runs off 54 balls. His dismissal did not butcher the Indian bench or the crowd, for the very knock that laid the foundation for a monstrous total had propelled him beyond a safety line. It was neither his hit past the ropes nor the runs he piled up; Sharma worked on controlling the game, dictating terms to the opposing bowlers and setting a score that was impossible for England to chase.
The other raised hands, including Tilak Varma and Shivam Dube, raised the score, but Sharma’s batting was the foundation on which 247/9 was built in 20 overs.
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The response of England could hardly be noted, though, with a scanty 97 runs put together before the team was thrashed out in just 10.3 overs, with Philip Salt’s aggressive 55 being the sole resistance. While English batting showed little fight against the Indian bowlers led by Mohammed Shami and Varun Chakravarthy, it was Abhishek Sharma’s innings that really buried the match.
Not only did this innings by Sharma seal the series for India, but it also firmly established him as a key player for the future, a boy who could turn matches with his bat all on his lonesome. Indeed, it shall go down in history as one of the best innings in T20 cricket, considering the circumstances, against the opposition, and on that particular day.
