Cricketer-turned-expert Virender Sehwag has lavished huge praise on opening batter Abhishek Sharma for playing a phenomenal brand of cricket in the ongoing Asia Cup 2025 campaign. Abhishek has faced just below 40 balls against UAE & Pakistan, but has scored runs at a strike rate of over 190. The southpaw tore apart Shaheen Afridi in the power play, scoring a four and a six in the first two balls he faced.
Chasing a modest target of 128, Abhishek scored 31 off just 13 balls, showing his brute force and displaying class at the crease. By the time he was dismissed, the stage was set for other batters to play without the scoreboard pressure.
During a discussion on Sony Sports, Sehwag was mighty impressed with the Indian opening batter's explosive batting in the power play and with the new ball.
"You rarely get to see such a talent, the strike rate at which he bats. He has a strike rate of 193, and he batted at a strike rate above 200 today. You get very few players who play with a strike rate of 200 against the new ball. We have seen that with the old ball because everyone has to hit later," he said.
The former India captain further went on to state that Abhishek instills fear in the opposition bowlers' minds.
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"It's slightly difficult to hit fast bowlers for fours and sixes at will with the new ball. However, Abhishek does that exceptionally. When he comes to the ground, the bowlers have a fear as to where they should bowl to him. I get delighted watching him bat," Sehwag observed.
India thrashes Pakistan, as one-sided rivalry continues
Speaking about the match, India dominated Pakistan with bat and ball in hand as they cruised to a six-wicket victory i just 15.5 overs. In the bowling, Kuldeep Yadav played a starring role with a three-wicket haul, and Jasprit Bumrah picked up two wickets as they restricted Pakistan to just 127 for the loss of nine wickets.
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With the bat in hand, Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma chipped in with an unbeaten 47 and 31 runs respectively as India registered their second win in the Asia Cup 2025 event.
