'When we face him in the nets…': Abhishek on challenges of facing Bumrah

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In the first T20I match against Afghanistan, Team India secured a victory by seven wickets at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.

During the match, Team India’s Abhishek Sharma took a crucial catch to dismiss Afghanistan’s opening batsman Rahmanullah Gurbaz for a two-ball duck. Speaking about the catch, the 26-year-old cricketer said that taking early catches in the match makes a player more confident.

“I mean, getting a catch in the first over, and also in the slips, makes you a bit more confident (his catch to dismiss Gurbaz). So that is how we started the innings today. So I am very happy with that,” he said.

He then expressed his views on the challenge of facing Team India’s lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah. Sharma said that it feels like playing Test cricket while facing Bumrah during the net sessions.

“Even in T20 cricket, that is likely to happen. I mean, of course, when we face him in the nets as well, it feels like we are playing first few overs of Test cricket to him. So we are always on our toes for him in the slips as well,” said Sharma.

The left-handed batsman also delivered a knock of 82 runs. Facing just 32 deliveries, he smashed seven boundaries and the same number of maximums. Speaking about his knock, he said that as an opening batsman, he wanted to give a good start to the team.

“I still remember two years back, we decided we wanted to play a certain way and dominate all teams. It worked for a year. But one or two (bad) series won’t define our batting. As an opener, you want to give a good start,” said the Amritsar-born cricketer.

Following the victory, the “Men in Blue” have taken a lead by 1-0 in the three-match series against the Afghans. The second T20I match is scheduled to be played on September 15 at the same venue.

IND vs AFG 2nd T20I: Full squads

India: Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Tilak Varma (VC), Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy*, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar*, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah*, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana*.

Afghanistan: Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Naveen-ul-Haq, Azmatullah Omarzai, Ibrahim Zadran (C), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Darwish Rasooli, Nangeyalia Kharote, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Sediqullah Atal, Noor Ahmad, Noor ul Rahman (WK), Abdullah Ahmadzai.

(With ANI Inputs)

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