The day Abhishek Sharma plays 12-13 overs, India will mostly win that match: Parthiv Patel

Former Indian keeper-batter Parthiv Patel has lauded Abhishek Sharma for his aggressive and fearless batting approach in the five-match T20I series against Australia as India bagged a 2-1 series win.

Speaking exclusively on Star Sports, Parthiv Patel asserted that Sharma is known for his six-hitting skills right from the initial overs. However, the former keeper has highlighted that he saw maturity in Abhishek’s knocks Down Under when compared to his gameplay in India.

For the unversed, Abhishek ended the five-match T20I series with the player of the series award. Speaking about his numbers, he accumulated 163 runs from five T20Is at an average of 40.75 to lead the run-scoring charts.

"Abhishek is known for six-hitting. The one thing that was seen on this tour is that it's not like he is trying to swing blindly off every ball. I saw the maturity in how to play the field. In India, the grounds are generally small. So you have the confidence that even if there is a fielder at deep square leg, you will clear him and you will get a six," Parthiv Patel said on Star Sports.

"However, here, if the boundary is 75 or 80 meters, it doesn't get cleared that easily. Then you have to hit shots in the pockets. You have to hit shots where the fielders aren't there. You saw that in Abhishek Sharma's innings in Melbourne and today as well. He was making room and hitting in the areas where the fielders weren't there," he added.

Furthermore, Parthiv Patel reckoned that the day Abhishek Sharma decides to play for around 12 to 13 overs in a T20I, India would most likely come out on the winning side because of his fearless batting pattern.

"He will play like this only. There will be frustration at times as to whether there was any need to hit another six when two fours and a six had already come. However, I feel he will play in that fashion only," he noted.

"The day he plays 12-13 overs, India will mostly win that match because he bats with a strike rate like that. The one good thing is that he has scored more than 1,000 runs, and with this style only. So you see consistency along with high-risk, high-reward cricket in Abhishek's batting," he concluded.

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