Asia Cup 2025: Always Want To Go With The Flow, Says POTM Abhishek Sharma

(MENAFN- IANS) Dubai, Sep 25 (IANS) After playing a scintillating knock of 75 in 39 deliveries, Abhishek Sharma credited his preparation and simple batting approach for India's 41-run victory over Bangladesh to reach the final of the Men's T20 Asia Cup 2025 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium here on Wednesday.

Put into bat after Bangladesh's stand-in skipper Jaker Ali won the toss, India posted 168/6 in 20 overs. Abhishek lit up the innings with his power-hitting, taking India to 72/0 in the first six overs with Shubman Gill (29 off 19). After Gill's dismissal, India sent Shivam Dube at No. 3, but he managed only 2.

Abhishek added 29 off 13 with captain Suryakumar Yadav before being brilliantly run out by Rishad Hossain.

“Of course, I have done my job for the team. I said it before, and I generally go with the flow. If it's in my arc, I will go for it even if it's the first ball of my innings. I try to get the Power-play for my team,” Abhishek said after being named Player of the Match (POTM) in India's 41-run win.

His 75 not only powered India but also took him past his mentor Yuvraj Singh's tally for the most T20I innings by an Indian with five or more sixes. He now has six such knocks, behind only Rohit Sharma (13) and Suryakumar (9). He also set a new Asia Cup record, hitting 17 sixes in the 2025 edition - the most ever in a single tournament across formats.

He revealed how he and Shubman Gill planned their approach early on.“In a few matches, I wanted to go hard in the first ball of my innings, but tonight, they had certain bowlers who wanted to pick up a wicket early on with the new ball. This was a new wicket, and I wanted to check how it was going. Me and Shubman spoke about it. We wanted to take a few balls and then take the attack on the bowlers,” he added.

Abhishek also underlined the importance of practice in sharpening his game.“I always try to go with the field. There are certain shots that I back really hard. I am not someone who goes all out from ball one. I try to play shots according to the field. I had a plan that if I wanted to play this brand of cricket, I needed to work really hard. I wanted to play shots but not get out when I practice in the nets,” he explained.

India lost momentum after his wicket. Suryakumar struggled for 5 off 11, Tilak Varma made only 5, and the innings slowed down. Hardik Pandya's 38 off 29 in the death overs and Axar Patel's 10 not out off 15 ensured India crossed 165. Rishad Hossain (2-27) and Tanzim Hasan Sakib (1-29) bowled well to keep India to 168/6.

India captain Suryakumar Yadav said the team wanted to test themselves batting first.“Actually, we didn't get to bat first in this tournament, that too in a crucial game. I think we batted first against Oman. It was important to bat first in the Super 4s. We played here on the 14th, where the wicket was on the slower side in the second innings. That's exactly what happened today, and there was no dew,” he said.

Chasing 169, Bangladesh relied on opener Saif Hassan, who made 69 off 51 balls but was dropped thrice - on 40 by Axar, on 65 by Shivam Dube, and on 66 by Sanju Samson. He shared a 42-run stand with Parvez Hossain Emon (21 off 19), but apart from the openers, no one else reached double digits. Kuldeep Yadav was superb with 3-18, Varun Chakravarthy took 2-29, and Bumrah bounced back strongly with 2-18. Axar chipped in with 1-37, while Tilak Varma bowled the final over, dismissing Mustafizur Rahman to end Bangladesh's innings at 127.

Bangladesh skipper Jaker Ali praised his bowlers.“It's quite surprising, but all credit goes to the boys; they adjusted well after 10 overs and bowled really well. We can take lots of positives from this game. We have another game tomorrow. We have to keep in mind that we can win and qualify for the final. Let's see what management and I communicate. We will decide the combination and then give our best tomorrow,” he said.

This was India's fifth straight win of the tournament, ensuring their place in the final. With Sri Lanka eliminated, Pakistan and Bangladesh will now meet in a virtual semifinal to decide the other finalist.

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