Team India got an emphatic win in the opener of the 5-match T20I series against New Zealand. With an in-form Abhishek Sharma on top of the batting line-up, the Men in Blue posted a massive total of 238 runs, batting first. Former India international Kris Srikkanth made a huge applause for Abhishek Sharma, who played another match-winning knock for the team.
Srikkanth pointed out that it was Sharma who made the difference between the two teams in Nagpur. The left-handed batter completed his half-century in 22 balls and eventually went on to register an 84-run knock against only 35 deliveries, powered by five boundaries and eight over-boundaries. Taking a step further, the former cricketer stated that the quality difference between Sharma and the rest of the Indian batting order is immense.
India got a commanding win over New Zealand in the opening game of the 5-match T20I series
The ongoing 5-match T20I series is underway after the conclusion of a 3-match ODI series, where the hosts, India, lost the contest by 1-2 to New Zealand, which was not a good sign for Team India ahead of the T20I World Cup 2026, which will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
Last night, it clearly showed that the ODI series loss did not harm the team’s T20I performance, as they won the game by 48 runs, with Abhishek Sharma as the best player of the match. Srikkanth reckoned that whenever the emerging opener got a notable amount of runs, India got wins where swashbuckling batters like Hardik Pandya and Rinku Singh also put their contributions significantly in the scorecard.
“When Abhishek scores more than 50, the team is bound to win. You don’t need anything else. Every time he scores a 50, India gets to 200. You can bat the opposition out in T20 cricket, and India has a gun batting line-up. Everyone at the top can score; Hardik can score; Rinku can score,” the former cricketer said on his YouTube channel.
Srikkanth explains why Abhishek Sharma is getting success in the Twenty20 format
Abhishek Sharma has been scoring runs constantly for India since the Asia Cup 2025 tournament. The southpaw developed himself as one of the most dominating batters across the globe in this particular format. Srikkanth explained that because of reasonable footwork and sensible batting, Sharma has become dangerous in the format.
“Abhishek Sharma makes a huge difference. In T20 matches, opening is very important. He does not play across; he won’t hit sixes from standing still, but he has a good reach and uses his height well. He is playing very intelligent cricket. He is not going for sixes every ball. There is a huge difference between him and the rest of the Indian cricketers,” he added.
If Abhishek gets out early, it can be trouble – Kris Srikkanth
Lastly, the ex-cricketer said that the batting depth of Team India is great. Along with Sharma, there are Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, and many others. But he showed concerns over the skipper Suryakumar Yadav’s recent form.
“If Abhishek gets out early, it can be trouble. I agree. But don’t forget, Ishan Kishan has not clicked yet. If he gets going, he is another Abhishek. When Tilak comes in, he will score too. The advantage is that India are not dependent on one player. Surya has not come to full form yet. There is Hardik. The top six are gun,” he said.
