What kind of downfall is this from world number 2? Abhishek Sharma surrendered on Muzarabani’s balls, played 20 balls in 3 matches and scored only 11 runs.

New Delhi. For Abhishek Sharma, the world’s number 2 T20 batsman and famous for his fearless power-hitting, the recent 3-match T20 series against Zimbabwe proved to be no less than a nightmare. The player whose stormy batting prowess is acknowledged by the entire cricket world, Abhishek was seen yearning to score runs in this entire series. Every strategy of Abhishek Sharma failed in front of Zimbabwe’s tall fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani and he became the victim of Muzarabani thrice in three matches.

Abhishek Sharma’s bat remained so silent in this series that he made an unwanted record in the history of cricket, which no batsman would ever want to remember. Let us understand how Muzarabani did not even give Abhishek Sharma a chance to stay at the crease and how the statistics are testifying to this mega-flop show.

3 matches, 20 balls and just 11 runs
If we look at Abhishek Sharma’s innings in this series, the statistics clearly show that he had no answer to Muzarabani’s balls. During the entire series, Abhishek faced only 20 balls and scored only 11 runs from his bat. A big innings was expected from him in the first match of the series, but he looked very helpless. He faced 8 balls and returned to the pavilion after scoring only 1 run. Luck did not favor him in the second match too and this time also he could score only 8 runs in 8 balls, where once again Muzarabani made him walk. After this, the story did not change even in the third match, where Abhishek faced 4 balls and lost his wicket after scoring only 2 runs. In every match it seemed as if Muzarabani came to bowl only to take the wicket of Abhishek Sharma. This performance of Abhishek was no less than a shock for the fans, because no one expected such a surrender from the world number two batsman.

Abhishek Sharma made the worst record of Indian openers
Abhishek Sharma has made a very shameful record in his name with just 11 runs scored in this 3-match T20 series against Zimbabwe. Now he has come at the top in terms of fewest runs scored by an Indian opener in a 3-match T20I series. Earlier in the year 2018, Shikhar Dhawan had scored the lowest score of 19 runs as an opener in the 3-match T20I series against England. After this, in the year 2022, Ishan Kishan added only 24 runs in 3 matches against New Zealand. But now Abhishek Sharma has left both of them behind by scoring only 11 runs in 3 matches against Zimbabwe and has gone ahead in this list. This unwanted record of Abhishek is enough to show that this series was one of the worst phases of his career.

Muzarabani became the time for consecration
If we talk about overall T20 cricket, then Abhishek Sharma’s record against Blessing Muzarabani is like a nightmare. Abhishek has consistently looked helpless in front of the bounce and precise line-length of Muzarabani’s ball. In the T20 format, Abhishek Sharma has so far faced a total of 17 balls from Muzarabani, on which he has been out 5 times. Abhishek’s batting average in the overall T20 against Muzarabani has been just 3.4, while his strike rate drops to just 58.62. Out of the total 20 balls he played against Muzarabani, only 20 balls were dot. Talking about the current T20 series, the situation was even more worrying. In this series, Abhishek faced 14 balls from Muzarabani and on these 14 balls, only 2 runs came off his bat, while he was out 3 times. During this period, his strike rate against Muzarabani was only 14.28. With his accurate bowling, Muzarabani had completely blocked every way for Abhishek to score runs.

The challenge of return and the way forward
There is always risk in the aggressive style for which Abhishek Sharma is known. But the way he got out in the same manner in every match against Muzarabani is a matter of introspection for the Indian team management and Abhishek himself. At the international level, when opposing teams sense your weakness, the mark of a great player is to bounce back by improving your technique. This flop show against Zimbabwe is definitely going to blow Abhishek’s confidence, but fans hope that this young star will work on his shortcomings and will soon return to his old aggressive form on the field and give a befitting reply to the critics.