Abhishek Sharma back to his destructive best

Entertainers carry the burden of expectations; it’s a boon and a bane. Abhishek Sharma is no stranger to the adulation and brickbats that come along with excellence and its constant demand.

His pyrotechnics at the top of the order made 300 runs almost a mandate for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL. He has carried that same destructive vein in international cricket. The domestic scene, naturally, was ready and waiting for the fireworks.

Anticlimactically, when he returned a total of 10 runs in the first two Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy games for Punjab — this after a testing outing Down Under where gaps were discovered in his merciless style of play — whispers of doubt followed.

However, on Sunday, Abhishek got the monkey off his back in a way only he can. The 25-year-old gave Bengal — with the likes of Mohammed Shami and Akash Deep in the ranks — a rude awakening; the side running from pillar to post in search of answers or good fortune. Neither was found.

Records galore

His command down the ground and on the leg side helped him coast into the record books: the most T20 sixes (91) by an Indian in a calendar year, second-most maximums (16) in a T20 innings by an Indian, and the second highest T20 score (148) by an Indian, to name a few.

The basics of the game — stance, grip, swing and timing — were all there, but on steroids. Pace or spin. Fast or slow. Abhishek showed equal disregard. If not for his body of work, this whirlwind knock would’ve been filed under ‘scarcely digestible and barely conceivable’. All well in character for the world’s top-ranked T20 batter.

When he eventually fell, Abhishek walked to cheers from his teammates and fans thronging the fences. Lost in the noise was the sound of the bookmakers reworking India’s odds at next year’s home T20I World Cup. And understandably so.