From Yuvraj Singh to a new star: Record rewritten in White Ball
Dubai (The Uttam Hindu): Indian cricket team's explosive batsman Abhishek Sharma smashed a half-century against Pakistan in the Super Four match of the Asia Cup 2025 at the Dubai Cricket Stadium breaking the record of his mentor Yuvraj Singh.
Abhishek Sharma smashed 74 runs off 39 balls, hitting 5 sixes and 6 fours. During this innings, he reached his half-century in 24 balls. This is the fastest half-century by an Indian in a T20I against Pakistan. This record was previously held by Yuvraj Singh. In 2012, Yuvraj Singh scored a half-century against Pakistan in Ahmedabad, off 29 balls. Abhishek was named Player of the Match for his explosive innings.
Abhishek Sharma along with Shubman Gill played a crucial role in India's victory. Both of them added 105 runs for the first wicket in 9.5 overs and successfully completed India's ongoing Operation White Ball against Pakistan. Gill was out after scoring 47 runs in 28 balls. Pakistan had given a target of 172 runs to India. The Indian team won the match by 6 wickets by scoring 174 runs at the loss of 4 wickets in 18.5 overs. Tilak Verma remained unbeaten on 30 and Hardik Pandya on 7 runs. Samson was out after scoring 13 runs.
Earlier, Pakistan, forced to bat first after losing the toss, scored 171 runs for 5 wickets. Openers Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman scored 21 runs in 2.3 overs. Fakhar was out after scoring 15 runs in 9 balls. Sahibzada Farhan along with Saim Ayub scored 72 runs for the second wicket. Saim contributed 21 runs in 17 balls to the team's account. Hussain Talat came to bat at number four. He scored 10 runs in 11 balls while Sahibzada Farhan added 58 runs in 45 balls. His innings included 3 sixes and 5 fours.
Pakistan lost their fourth wicket at 115. From there, Mohammad Nawaz along with captain Salman Agha, added 34 runs for the fifth wicket to put Pakistan in a challenging position. Pakistan scored 17 runs in the 18th over of the innings. Mohammad Nawaz was run out in 18.3 overs. Nawaz added 21 runs to the team's total, while Salman Agha made 17.