Dubai : Abhishek Sharma was brutal and beautiful in equal measure during his scintillating 74 as India made a tricky chase look comfortable, winning an ill-tempered Super 4 contest of the Asia Cup against Pakistan by six wickets in Dubai .
Left-handed Abhishek, who got 30-plus knocks in all the group league games, hit six fours and five sixes in his 39-ball knock.
As he was dismissed trying to hit his sixth maximum, it left everyone in a daze and still yearning for more.
If Shivam Dube’s double blows in the Pakistan innings’ back-10 opened the game for India, Abhishek and his best buddy Shubman Gill (47 off 28 balls) set up the chase of 172 with a 105-run opening stand.
The inseparable duo, who had been playing together since their Punjab U-12 days, sent the bowlers on a leather hunt.
It started with a hooked six by Abhishek off the very first delivery from Shaheen Shah Afridi (0-40 in 3.5 overs) as he picked wrist spinner Abrar Ahmed for special treatment, sending him for four more maximums.
Gill, who had a poor first 10 days of the tournament, was finally in his elements and was severe on pacers and spinners alike.
But the lofted drive over extra-cover off Afridi would be remembered for a long time.
The match didn’t end without its share of skirmishes and every time it was Pakistani players, who started it but Indians, who finished it.
After being hit for a boundary, Afridi had a word for Gill, who showed him where the ball went.
Similarly when ill-tempered Haris Rauf was given a belt treatment by Abhishek, he tried to get into a physical altercation only to be stopped by the umpires as Gautam Gambhir sent three of his reserves to diffuse the situation.
Rauf, who was looking for a confrontation, didn’t stop there.
After removing Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav cheaply, the fast bowler celebrated with a gesture of flying a fighter aircraft, trying to add fuel to the fire.
After that, wherever Rauf was positioned in the field, Indian fans would chant “KohliiiiKohliii” rubbing it in about those two iconic sixes the Indian talisman hit at the MCG during a T20 World Cup game in 2022.
Tilak Varma (30 not out off 19 balls) ensured that after a mini-collapse, that there were no more twists in the tale, finishing the chase with utmost calm in 18.5 overs.
Tilak and Hardik Pandya (7 not out) walked off the ground without shaking hands with opposition players in continuation of the ‘No Handshake Policy.’
It may be recalled that skipper Suryakumar too did not shake hands with his counterpart Salman Agha during the toss.
Abhishek Storm Blows Away Pakistan!
