NEW DELHI: A moment of lighthearted camaraderie between former IPL teammates Abhishek Sharma of India and Travis Head of Australia captured attention during the second T20I between their nations. The two left-handed batsmen, who previously shared the dressing room at Sunrisers Hyderabad, were seen chatting and sharing a laugh on the field amidst the intense competition.
Following Australia’s four-wicket victory, Abhishek Sharma addressed the media and opened up about his on-field conversation with the Australian opener.
“I knew he wasn’t going to give me any real secrets,” Abhishek chuckled. “He’s the kind of batter who doesn’t overthink things. But I still tried, asking him a bit about the pitch conditions and his approach to the game. His simple advice? ‘Go and enjoy,'” Abhishek revealed.
The match itself saw Mitchell Marsh lead Australia to a comfortable win. Marsh smashed a quickfire 46, complementing an exceptional bowling performance by Josh Hazlewood, who claimed 3 wickets for just 13 runs. This restricted India to a modest 125 all out in 18.4 overs. Abhishek Sharma (68 runs) and Harshit Rana (35 runs) were the only Indian batsmen to show significant resistance.
The article also included an image captioned: “During the second T20I, Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma were seen chatting and sharing a few laughs on the field.”
Marsh and Head then efficiently chased down the target, with Head contributing a swift 28 off 15 balls, forming a crucial 51-run opening partnership with Marsh. Australia reached the target with 40 balls to spare, taking a 1-0 lead in the five-match series after the first game in Canberra was unfortunately washed out.
Reflecting on the match, Australian captain Mitchell Marsh acknowledged the importance of winning the toss on a moist pitch. “It was a good toss to win, with a bit of moisture on the pitch, and Josh is incredible when there’s something in it,” Marsh stated. “We aimed to grab a couple of early wickets.”
Marsh also spoke about his own performance: “I was a bit anxious initially but found my rhythm eventually. Head really helped relieve the pressure. We’re looking forward to three more exciting games.”
Support from Xavier Bartlett and Nathan Ellis, who each took two wickets, further solidified Australia’s dominant display. The next match in the series is scheduled for Sunday in Hobart.
Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav highlighted Hazlewood’s impact: “The way he (Hazlewood) bowled in the powerplay, if you’re four down in the powerplay it’s difficult to recover from that.” He also praised Abhishek Sharma, saying, “Abhishek has been doing this for quite some time now. He knows his game and his identity and he is not changing it anymore and hopefully he sticks to it and plays many more knocks like this for us.”
Looking ahead, Yadav emphasized a clear strategy for the upcoming games: “I think we need to do what we did in the first game. Bat well when batting first and then come out and defend.”
Before the match commenced, a minute’s silence was observed in memory of Ben Austin, a 17-year-old Australian cricketer who tragically passed away after being struck by a ball in the nets before a local game in Melbourne on Thursday.