अभिषेक शर्मा को यह जानकर राहत मिली कि उन्हें IND बनाम AUS T20I में जोश हेज़लवुड का सामना नहीं करना पड़ेगा

India cricket team opener Abhishek Sharma stated that he is glad he won’t have to face Josh Hazlewood in the remainder of the T20Is against Australia. The fast-bowler was the pick amongst the Aussies in the 2nd T20I, finishing with a match-winning spell of 3/13. Following the game at the MCG, Abhishek – who is one of India’s threating openers – categorically stated that he was happy to not face Hazelwood in the future.

Abhishek happy not to face Hazlewood in future

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Sharma expressed surprise when he was told that Hazlewood would not feature in the remainder of the 3 T20Is. He said that while he enjoys the challenge, he acknowledges that that the Aussie was good enough to play all three formats and that he enjoyed the challenge. It is pertinent to point out that Hazlewood will no longer be a part of the T20I series as he will be gearing up for the Ashes going ahead. Australia have taken a 1-0 lead in the ongoing series after the 1st T20I in Canberra was washed out.

“I think as a batter, I was watching him in the ODIs as well. So, somehow we knew that he is going to give us this much difficulty and challenges. So, the way he bowled today, even I got surprised. I haven’t seen something in T20s. Something new for me as well, because I’m a batter who wants to dominate. But when I was seeing how he was bowling to me, it just seemed like had a plan and that he was just executing it,” Sharma said.

Abhishek managed to survive till 18.3 over, finishing with 68 runs to his name off 37 deliveries, maintaining a strike rate of 183.78. The opener was the only Indian batter, apart from Harshit Rana, to taste success in what was a horrendous outing for the visitors in the IND vs AUS 2nd T20I in Melbourne. At the end of 11 overs, Sharma had only faced 19 deliveries, and he only faced 18 more before he was dismissed in the 19th over.