The threat of ‘Travishek’ on a flat track, especially in home conditions, is immense. With both openers being left-handed, the Delhi Capitals opted for the textbook move, deploying an off-spinner in the powerplay. And why not? The world had seen it during the recent T20 World Cup. Abhishek Sharma’s struggle against the variety is no secret.
The India opener, who was tipped for a record-breaking World Cup after a blistering build-up, was handed a reality check as he was dismissed not once, but thrice in the powerplay by off-spinners. The numbers underlined the issue, an average of just 9.67 against right-arm off-spin, with a strike rate of 107.41.
Hence, Axar Patel’s decision to hand the new ball to Nitish Rana in the second over looked intriguing. Rana was preferred over Auqib Nabi as a bowling option first and foremost. But the gamble exploded.
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Rana was tidy for the first five balls, but a slight error in length, fractionally short and on the stumps, was punished by Abhishek for a boundary. Axar persisted, bringing him back for the fifth over, but this time the part-timer was shown no mercy. Abhishek smashed two consecutive sixes, first going inside-out over cover off a tossed-up delivery, before rocking back to pull a short ball over long-on. Travis Head joined the assault with a six off the final ball, as Rana conceded 20 runs in the over.
In hindsight, Abhishek was never likely to be troubled by a part-time off-spinner. But even specialists have struggled to contain him this season, with the batter scoring 34 runs off just 13 balls against the variety without being dismissed.
While Abhishek did have a known weakness, he has clearly worked on it, something evident during the T20 World Cup itself. That improvement was visible in his approach against Glenn Phillips in the final in Ahmedabad last month.
Former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis highlighted the tactical shift in Abhishek’s game.
“He’s now seen what teams do, slower balls, wider lines, packed off-side fields. Tonight, he anticipated that plan, moved across and accessed the leg side better. That shows the work he’s put in tactically,” du Plessis told ESPNcricinfo.
Anil Kumble echoed the sentiment, pointing out Abhishek’s calculated approach.
“That’s his game plan, he likes pace. New Zealand had a clear plan: slower and wider. He countered by moving across and playing straighter. He survived that one over of off-spin and then took on the seamers,” Kumble said.
Rana did return to bowl the 10th over, conceding just six runs. But in his final over, Abhishek dismantled him, hammering 23 runs, including three sixes and a four, on his way to his third-fastest T20 century.