‘One or two bad series won't define our batting’ - Abhishek Sharma after India’s win over Afghanistan

Abhishek's 82-off-32 demolishes Afghanistan — India go top of the three-match series

What a knock. Abhishek Sharma picked the perfect moment to announce himself, blowing past a fiery 82 off just 32 balls to fire India past Afghanistan's 156/8 by seven wickets in the first T20I at Kotla on Sunday. Chase done with 38 balls to spare, and India now lead the series 1-0.

The mindset that matters

Here's the story most people are missing. India just came off a rough whiteball run — hammered 0-2 by Ireland, then lost both the T20I and ODI rubbers against England. A weaker team would panic-rebuild. Abhishek? Zero doubt.

"One or two bad series won't define our batting," he said. Two years back this squad committed to a dominant, aggressive identity — it worked for a year, and he's betting they don't flinch now. That's the kind of conviction you back. He's not chasing quick PR; he's stacking confidence on a proven system.

Iyer: Bumrah set the template

Captain Shreyas Iyer didn't take the credit himself — and smart move. He pointed to Bumrah detonating in the very first over (Gurbaz ducked) before Arshdeep, Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel strangled the Afghan middle order. Synergy, he called it. And on the other end?

He singled out Abhishek's "flawless, exemplary" batting and Ishan Kishan's calm 42 off 33. Composed under pressure — exactly what you want from a WK-Bat down the order.

Zadran: we didn't put it up

Afghanistan captain Ibrahim Zadran was honest about the shortfall. They batted reasonably through the middle overs but never converted it into a match-defining total, and India's fielding (that runout of him by Kishan? The turning point, he admitted) did the rest. Best fielding side in the world, plain and simple.

My read: India's batting identity is their biggest asset right now, not a liability. When the rest of the world panics and tweaks their approach after a bad series, this group doubles down. That's how you build a dynasty. Next two matches, we see if the theory holds under real pressure.

Series: India lead 1-0. Next T20I tmr.

Source: Crictracker