Abhishek Sharma (Pic credit: BCCI)

India opener Abhishek Sharma celebrated a significant milestone in second T20I against England as he made his 50th T20I appearance at Old Trafford in Manchester. Since making his T20I debut in 2024, Abhishek has established himself as a key member of India’s T20I setup. In his first 50 T20Is, the left-hander has scored 1,546 runs in 48 innings at an impressive average of 33.60 and a staggering strike rate of 193.25. His tally includes two centuries and 11 half-centuries, while he has smashed 152 fours and 102 sixes.

100 sixes for Abhishek

Abhishek Sharma recently became the fastest player in T20I history (Full Member nations) to hit 100 sixes, achieving this milestone in just 785 balls. During the first T20I against England in Durham, his explosive 59-run knock off 24 balls secured this historic world record.Abhishek’s milestone came on a historic day for Indian cricket, with 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi making his international debut to become the youngest player ever to feature in a men’s T20I. After winning the toss, India captain Shreyas Iyer elected to bat first, with Abhishek opening the innings alongside debutant Sooryavanshi.Speaking about India’s depth during toss, Iyer said the fierce competition for places is a positive sign for Indian cricket and believes that “pressure is a privilege,” as it pushes players to perform at their best.”It’s game after game like the amount of talent India produces over the last couple of months and years. I think it’s pleasing to the eye and also it keeps us especially on the toes as well throughout the series. Because pressure is a privilege, I feel. And if you perform under pressure, you reap the benefits as well,” Shreyas during toss.

Playing XIs

India: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Harshit Rana, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy.England: Philip Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Harry Brook (c), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue.