Kamal Ghorui
Abhishek Sharma’s lean run in the T20 World Cup continued as the India opener fell for a four-ball duck against Pakistan in the high-voltage Group A clash in Colombo on Sunday.In a bold tactical move, Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha took the new ball himself and struck in the very first over of the contest. Abhishek, looking to get off the mark quickly, failed to settle and was dismissed without scoring, handing Pakistan an early breakthrough.
Abhishek Sharma’s last six T20Is0(1)68*(20)0(1)30(16)0(1)0(4)The left-hander had also been dismissed for a duck against the USA earlier in the tournament, raising concerns over his form at the top of the order. Abhishek was back into the playing eleven for the crucial encounter. He replaced Sanju Samson, while Kuldeep Yadav came in for Arshdeep Singh. Abhishek had earlier missed the Namibia fixture after being hospitalised in New Delhi with a stomach infection.Suryakumar Yadav and Agha did not shake hands at the toss at the R Premadasa Stadium, continuing a trend seen during their meetings at the Asia Cup in Dubai last year, including the final. Agha won the toss and opted to bowl.Pakistan fielded an unchanged side, while India reshuffled in search of stability. However, Agha’s early strike ensured Pakistan seized immediate control of the contest.Playing XIsIndia: Ishan Kishan (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, and Jasprit BumrahPakistan: Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Saim Ayub, Salman Agha (captain), Babar Azam, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Tariq, and Abrar Ahmed
