By Admin 
When India met Pakistan for the first time in this Asia Cup on September 14, Abhishek Sharma greeted Shaheen Shah Afridi’s opening delivery with a charge down the track to convert what was intended to be a full, away-swinging delivery into a full toss. Belted down the ground. Four!
When they met again exactly a week later, Afridi pulled his length back first up to avoid a repeat. Abhishek, alert to the bowler’s disposition, stayed back in his crease and pulled handsomely past fine leg. Six!
These may be just two deliveries in the battle of two supremely skilled 25-year-olds, but they encapsulate the one-sided nature of this match-up so far. With reputations counting for zilch in Abhishek’s playbook, he has gone after the left-arm pacer with the same uninhibited aggression that has characterised his impressive international T20I career over the past year. The numbers are instructive: over the two matches, Abhishek has plundered 31 runs in 14 balls off Afridi without being dismissed.
Abhishek Sharma has been at his belligerent best.
| Photo Credit:
ANI
In both matches, Afridi was simply unable to regather his poise once Abhishek landed the first punch. In the opening round, with Pakistan defending a modest total of 127 for nine, the pacer from Pakistan’s northwest was looted for 23 runs in his first two overs. Among Abhishek’s scintillating strokes was a dismissive whip that sailed over midwicket for six. Skipper Salman Agha never went back to his spearhead for a second spell.
In the outing on September 21, Pakistan had a steeper total to play with. Afridi, though, endured another bleak evening, leaking 40 runs in nearly four wicketless overs.
That Afridi has claimed nine wickets in the other four matches of this tournament reflects how well the Indian batters, and more specifically Abhishek, have handled Pakistan’s new-ball weapon.
“Shaheen is an aggressive bowler who will try and knock you over. And Abhishek is not going to hold back,” India bowling coach Morne Morkel said in anticipation of the match-up in Sunday’s final.
“Every time these two are going head-to-head, we all, as cricket supporters and fans, are on the edge of our seats. Let’s look forward to that on Sunday and enjoy the battle.”