The Indian openers, Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma, and Pakistani fast bowlers Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf were at each other’s throats throughout the match.
After the whole handshake debacle, Pakistan looked like a team possessed. Aided by some poor fielding, the Men in Green had raced to 91/1 in 10 overs. But the hot air balloon fizzled out afterwards. Despite losing just 4 wickets, Pakistan ended up scoring just 171.
For the ultra-talented Indian batting lineup, the chase wasn’t going to be a tough gig. Abhishek Sharma started things off with a six after hurling abuses at Shaheen Afridi afterwards. This pattern continued until the powerplay. Shaheen and Haris Rauf had seemingly decided to take on Abhishek and Shubman Gill for no reason.
Abhishek Sharma wins war of words
The Punjab boys didn’t hold back. They stood tall, figuratively and literally. They have erased 69 runs by the end of the powerplay itself. By then, the four of them had gotten into several verbal altercations. Gill recreated the famous Aamer Sohail vs Venkatesh Pradesh moment from the 1996 World Cup, but he came out on top, unlike Sohail.
But despite Pakistan being the aggressor, it was India who won. But the war of words and the actual match. After the game, Abhishek, who top-scored with 74, revealed that Pakistani players charged at Gill and him for no reason, which motivated him.
Today was pretty simple; the way they were coming out at us without any reason, I did not like it at all. That’s why I went after them. I wanted to deliver for the team. We have been playing since our school days; we enjoy each other’s company. We thought we would do it, and today was the day. The way he was giving it back, I really enjoyed it. If you see someone playing like this, that’s the intent I show, and I’m practicing really hard, and if it’s my day, I’m going to win it for my team,” Abhishek told Urooj Mumtaz in the post-match interview.
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