India were invited to bat first by Pakistan who won the toss in Colombo. Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma walked out to open for the men in blue. Sharma, who returned from a stomach illness, replaced Sanju Samson in the starting XI and was expected to do well against Pakistan. Kishan took a single on the second ball of the first over and brought Abhishek on strike. After three dot balls, Salman Agha dismissed Abhishek Sharma for a duck making it his second duck at the T20 World Cup. Sharma walked off without opening his account and remains runless at the competition so far. His failure came in as a huge disappointment for fans and pundits who eagerly waited for his return to the XI. Let us take a look at how the world reacted to Sharma’s dismissal.

 

Abhishek Sharma becomes only the second Indian opener to register two ducks in a T20 World Cup after Virat Kohli in 2024. Interestingly, he has four ducks in his last six innings making a huge concern for India. Abhishek’s dismissal surprised everyone given the type of aggression and explosiveness that he brings into the batting lineup. Fans think that Abhishek Sharma’s impatience and poor shot selection will cost India heavily and that he needs to value his wicket.Abhishek Sharma scored 4 ducks in his last 6 innings : 0(1) 68*(20) 0(1) 30(16) 0(1) 0(4) pic.twitter.com/GGV4b9UmjZ

 

 

However, Abhishek Sharma’s early dismissal did not cause much damage for India as Ishan Kishan took matters in his own hands. Kishan came out all guns blazing and took down all the Pakistani bowlers and scored a brilliant half-century. He pushed Pakistan on the back foot and shifted the momentum on India’s side with a performance to remember for ages.