3 Indian batters whose first runs in T20Is was a six ft. Abhishek Sharma
Abhishek Sharma scored a brilliant hundred in the second T20I of the five-match series against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club on Sunday, July 7. Team India batted first after winning the toss in the second T20I against Zimbabwe and Abhishek led the way with a scintillating 46-ball ton. Courtesy of his exploits, the Men in Blue put up 234-2 on the board. Their bowlers then held Zimbabwe to 134.
India lost skipper Shubman Gill for 2 after winning the toss and batting first. However, Abhishek (100 off 47) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (77*) added 137 runs for the second wicket. After the former was dismissed immediately after reaching three figures, Gaikwad and Rinku Singh (48* off 22) continued the good work, adding an unbroken 87 for the third wicket.
With the ball, pacers Mukesh Kumar and Avesh Khan claimed three wickets each, while leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi impressed yet again, registering figures of 2-11 from his four overs. It was Abhishek, however, who was named the Player of the Match for his whirlwind hundred. He also became the third Indian batter to open his account in T20Is with a ton.
How Abhishek Sharma got off the mark in T20Is
Abhishek made his T20I debut for India in the first match of the series against Zimbabwe in Harare on Saturday, July 6. He was dismissed for a four-ball duck, following a failed attempt to go after Brian Bennett. On Sunday, though, he got off the mark in T20Is against the same bowler and in some style.
In the very first over of the match, he pulled a short ball from the Zimbabwe off-spinner over deep backward square leg for a maximum. These were not just his first runs in T20Is but in international cricket as well. Abhishek ended up slamming seven fours and eight sixes in his stunning innings.
The southpaw was batting on 41 off 30 at the halfway stage of the Indian innings. He took on Dion Myers in the 11th over and clobbered him for two sixes and three fours as 28 came off the over. The attacking opener reached a 46-ball hundred with three consecutive sixes off Wellington Masakadza. He fell in the same over, the 14th of the innings, attempting another big hit.
During the course of his knock, Abhishek became the Indian batter with least innings needed to reach a T20I ton (two innings). His century is also the joint third-fastest ton for India in T20Is. KL Rahul also has a 46-ball hundred in the T20I format. Rohit Sharma (35) and Suryakumar Yadav (45) occupy the top two slots.
Two Indian batters who got off the mark with a six in T20Is before Abhishek Sharma
Now, let's take a look at two other Indian batters whose first scoring stroke in T20Is was a maximum.
#1 Suryakumar Yadav
T20I batting star Suryakumar Yadav's first scoring stroke in the format in international cricket was also a six. He did not get to bat on his T20I debut, but in his very first innings in the format for India, he made a big impact, hammering 57 off 31 balls, with the aid of six fours and three sixes.
Having gained a reputation in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as a big hitter for Mumbai Indians (MI), Suryakumar stunned England by slamming the very first ball in faced in T20Is for a six. In the fourth T20I of the five-match series against England in Ahmedabad in March 2021, Suryakumar came into bat at No. 3 after Rohit Sharma (12) chipped a return catch to Jofra Archer.
Suryakumar's first ball was a short delivery on leg stump from Archer. The right-handed batter moved inside the line, and pulled the ball with disdain over fine leg for a maximum. He has since gone on to establish himself as one of the most dangerous batters in T20I cricket.
#2 Tilak Varma
Another batter from the MI fold, Tilak Varma made his T20I debut against West Indies in Tarouba in August 2023. India were set to chase 150 in the match and Varma, coming into bat at No. 4 on his T20I debut, top-scored with 39 off 22 in a losing cause, a fighting knock that featured two fours and three sixes.
The young left-hander came in to bat in the powerplay after the Men in Blue lost two early wickets. Varma got off the mark in T20Is with consecutive sixes off Alzarri Joseph in the sixth over of India's chase.
The first maximum came via a length ball that was pulled over deep square leg. The next ball was slammed in the same region for a maximum. In an incredible coincidence, Suryakumar was the batter at the other end when Varma hit those two sixes.