“I was surprised to see that” - Sunil Gavaskar surprised to see Abhishek Sharma’s defensive strokeplay against Zimbabwe

Former Indian cricketer and commentator Sunil Gavaskar has expressed his surprise at witnessing the dashing opening batter Abhishek Sharma for respecting the good balls, hailing the batter for silencing his critics with a 55-run knock off 30 balls against Zimbabwe in the Super8 clash on Thursday, February 26, in Chennai.

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Abhishek Sharma started the showpiece event with a golden duck against the USA. Later, he got out for a four-ball duck against Pakistan. Subsequently, he suffered a three-ball duck against the Netherlands.

Though he scored a 12-ball 15-run knock against South Africa in the initial Super8 clash, his innings looked a bit scratchy. However, he silenced his doubters with an exceptional 55-run knock off 30 balls against Zimbabwe in the Super8 clash, helping India win the clash by 72 runs to remain alive in the campaign. 

"We know how good Abhishek Sharma is as a batter. He silenced his doubters with this knock of 55 runs against Zimbabwe. He took that extra time to start his innings. There was a method to his batting. He respected the off spinner, didn't take any kind of risks and played in a calm and composed manner. In this game, he actually played a defensive shot. He defended the ball. I was surprised to see that because we don't usually see Abhishek do that,” Sunil Gavaskar told JioStar.

“I really think this is a learning curve for him. Every cricketer goes through a rough patch of not scoring runs in back-to-back games. It is about how much you learn from it,” he added.

“I feel Abhishek has learned a lot and this will augur well for him going forward, in the next couple of games and the all-important clash against West Indies in Kolkata,” Gavaskar stated.

India will next lock horns with the West Indies at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday, March 1.

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