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India National Cricket Team’s explosive opening batter Abhishek Sharma has showered rich praise on his teammate Sanju Samson for putting the team ahead of his personal batting position during the team’s record-breaking win over New Zealand in the third T20I in Wellington on October 27.
Abhishek believes that Samson’s selfless decision helped create a positive atmosphere in the dressing room and allowed the players to bat with complete freedom. Earlier, Aakash Chopra thanks Gautam Gambhir for backing Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as opener vs NZ.
Abhishek Sharma’s 35-ball ton, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s blitz help India create T20I history
The decision to promote Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to open alongside Abhishek Sharma proved to be a masterstroke as the young left-handers destroyed New Zealand’s bowling attack in Wellington. India chased down the target of 199 in just 13.2 overs and won the match by six wickets.
During their successful chase, the Men in Blue have created a new T20I record with 118 runs without losing a wicket in the powerplay. Abhishek smashed a sensational 113 off just 38 balls, hitting 11 sixes and nine fours. He reached his half-century in only 15 balls and completed his fourth T20I century in just 35 deliveries in Wellington on Tuesday.
On the other hand, Vaibhav hammered 40 off 19 balls with the help of four sixes and four fours. The explosive opening duo added 133 runs for the first wicket in just 7.1 overs against the Black Caps.
Sanju Samson sacrifices opening spot for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
Actually, Sanju Samson had opened alongside Abhishek in the first T20I in Christchurch, where he scored 67 off 33 balls during India's successful chase of 226 and won the Player of the Match award. Amid this, Prasidh Krishna faces race against time for New Zealand ODIs.
After Ishan Kishan suffered an injury and missed the second T20I, Vaibhav came into the side at number three, while Samson and Abhishek continued as openers against New Zealand.
However, India changed the batting order for the third T20I match, with Ishan continued to be sidelined, allowing Sooryavanshi to return to his usual opening role. Sanju Samson, who has mostly batted at the top, moved down to number three in Wellington.
Abhishek Sharma hails Sanju Samson’s team-first mindset
After India took a 3-0 lead in the ongoing five-match T20I series in New Zealand, Abhishek Sharma was highly impressed by Sanju Samson's attitude, as the experienced batter accepted the change despite doing well in his regular batting position.
The left-handed opening batter said that Samson’s approval played an important part in creating the freedom that helped India produce a record-breaking performance.
Abhishek Sharma said in the BCCI video, "We opened today, but Sanju Bhai has been opening, so we can see that everyone in the team is selfless. I feel that the atmosphere that the team showed today will make it easy for everyone.”
Abhishek Sharma hails Sanju Samson’s sacrifice, calls India a 'Champion Team'
The Punjab lad felt that the team's willingness to adjust positions happily showed strong unity and a team-first mindset. Abhishek said that this attitude is a big sign of a champion team, where players put the team's needs above personal roles.
Abhishek added, “Like Sanju Bhai played his innings in the last 2 matches, I feel everyone, someone is going at his position; they can feel yaar... but the way Sanju Bhai showed his character, I feel the whole team did; it was amazing. There is a lot of shuffling; anyone can bat at any number, and everyone bats happily. I feel this is a sign of a champion team.”
