'Thanks to Yuvi Paaji, Brian Lara And my Dad': SRH's Abhishek Sharma Credits His Influences After Win vs CSK

‘You cannot guarantee a performance but at least you can guarantee a mindset and approach’, said Aavishkar Salvi on SRH batter Abhishek Sharma. But tonight, the youngster proved that he can guarantee both as he batted his way into the Player of the Match award for his swashbuckling innings of 37 runs off just 12 balls in Hyderabad’s6-wicket win against CSK.

Chasing a meagre target of just 166 runs, SRH got off to a fiery start and much of the credit for the initial jolt goes to the 23-year-old opener Abhishek indeed.

The fiery batter smoked the CSK bowlers for boundaries at will, as he racked up 3 fours and 4 sixes in his short-lived yet impactful innings of 37 runs in just 12 balls, before departing the crease.

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But, the damage has been done and SRH’s thunderous batting order continued to pummel CSK bowlers after the headstart given by Abhishek, as the likes of Travis Head and Aiden Markram piled on the misery.

After a slight dry spell in the middle, hard-hitting sensation Heinrich Klassen and Nitish Reddy finished off the game with 6 wickets to spare.

When asked about his team’s performance, Abhishek credited his team’s willingness and commitment in sticking to their gameplan of attacking in the powerplay overs and capitalising on the same to the best effect.

“In the bowling we felt it’s a bit slow wicket. We knew if we take the powerplay on, we can go with the flow after that. We had a chance to prepare well before this IPL,” shared Abhishek in a post-match interview.

As a lifelong Yuvraj Singh fan, Abhishek paid his respects and credit to his inspiration and also stated the role that former SRH coach and West Indies legend Brian Lara played in moulding him into the player he is today.

“Big scores do matter (individual scores), but I went with the flow today. Special thanks to Yuvi paaji, Brian Lara and my dad for this,” stated Abhishek.

Abhishek had the opportunity to undergo extensive training sessions with Yuvraj during the off-season and one can state that given his recent form, has benefitted massively due to the same.

With his 37-run blitz today, Abhishek has also entered the top 5 batters in the running for this year’s Orange Cap, having notched up  161 runs in 4 innings.