The Men in Blue beat the Proteas by seven wickets at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium in Dharamsala to take a 2-1 lead in the series.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The Indian bowling attack dominated the game as every bowler picked up at least one wicket, restricting the visitors to just 117 in 20 overs. Abhishek and the top-order batters made the 118-run chase look easy as India clinched a comfortable victory.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Speaking on JioStar, Robin Uthappa analysed Abhishek Sharma\u2019s confidence at the top of the order, saying, \u201cEven before the series, he was playing the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and was just gunning teams down. So you knew he was in good form.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about spending some time out there, and I think that first ball from Lungi Ngidi really set things up for him. From there, there was no looking back. He understood that they were trying to stifle him with tight lengths on middle and leg stump, but if they erred even slightly, he was there to punish them,\u201d he added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Uthappa also commended Abhishek\u2019s ability to hit sixes, describing him as a \u2018powerful and dynamic\u2019 batter. He likened the opener to the Sri Lankan legend Jayasuriya, noting that this kind of batting intimidates opposition bowlers and that only a player in exceptional form can deliver such a commanding innings.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cHe\u2019s already hit over 300 sixes in T20 cricket, which tells you what a powerful and dynamic batter he is. In fact, he reminds me of Sanath Jayasuriya\u2014sheer dominance as an opening batter. It instils intimidation and fear in bowlers, something you only see when players are in scorching form.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"Despite being a youngster, he\u2019s had a prolific year. Teams are planning for him, trying to bowl in areas where he doesn\u2019t score, but he seems to have solutions. That proactive thinking is quite amazing,\" he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cHe\u2019s already hit over 300 sixes in T20 cricket, which tells you what a powerful and dynamic batter he is. In fact, he reminds me of Sanath Jayasuriya\u2014sheer dominance as an opening batter. It instils intimidation and fear in bowlers, something you only see when players are in scorching form.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cIt was smart captaincy from Suryakumar Yadav to extend the spells of both the fast bowlers. He trusted Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya to do the job later if needed. The way he rotated and changed the bowlers was very well paced; pretty astute captaincy, definitely,\u201d Uthappa stated.<\/p>\r\n\r\n