Mukesh Ambani can't keep calm, breaks into rarely-before-seen celebration seeing Abhishek Sharma go berserk vs England
Abhishek Sharma's brilliant performance drew applause from Mukesh Ambani, as the southpaw smashed 135 to guide India to a dominant win over England.
Abhishek Sharma produced a T20 masterclass at the Wankhede Stadium, smashing a blistering 54-ball 135 to script history in India’s emphatic 150-run demolition of England in the fifth T20I on Sunday. His knock, laced with 13 sixes and seven fours, was not just a display of fearless strokeplay but a record-breaking effort that propelled India to a 4-1 series triumph.
The 24-year-old left-hander registered the highest individual T20I score by an Indian, surpassing Shubman Gill’s 126*. He also shattered the record for the most sixes in a T20I innings by an Indian, launching 13 maximums to go past Rohit Sharma’s previous best (10).
At one point, Abhishek seemed destined to break Rohit’s record for the fastest T20I hundred by an Indian (35 balls) but fell just short, reaching the milestone in 37 deliveries—still the second-fastest by an Indian.
During his innings, he unleashes a barrage of sixes, one of which drew a rather uncharacteristic reaction from India's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, who attended the game in Mumbai. Ambani, who is usually calm and reserved while attending matches even during the IPL, couldn't resist cheering for Abhishek when he smashed a six to reach his half-century off just 17 balls.
Ambani stood up and applauded the youngster on his brilliant effort, as the southpaw smashed India's second-fastest fifty in the format.
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The businessman stood up again to applaud Abhishek when the latter reached his century.
What set Abhishek apart was the sheer variety in his shot-making. He dominated both pace and spin, fearlessly dancing down the track to Jofra Archer, cutting and driving with precision, and even lifting Jamie Overton over his head for a six to bring up his half-century.
His fearless approach helped India notch their highest-ever T20I powerplay total of 95/1 and their highest total against England – 247/9 – surpassing the 224/2 set in 2021.
England, in response, crumbled under scoreboard pressure. Phil Salt provided early fireworks with a 23-ball 55, but the rest of the batting unit collapsed in dramatic fashion. Ben Duckett, Jos Buttler, Harry Brook, and Liam Livingstone managed just 18 runs combined, as England folded for 97 in just 10.3 overs.
Abhishek, already England’s tormentor with the bat, returned to claim two wickets for just three runs in his solitary over, dismissing Brydon Carse and Overton.
Mohammed Shami (3/25), Shivam Dube (2/11), Varun Chakravarthy (2/25), and Ravi Bishnoi (1/9) joined the destruction as India wrapped up a dominant win. The 150-run margin is now their second-largest in T20Is, only behind their 168-run thrashing of New Zealand in 2023.