High drama unfolded in Colombo as India’s Abhishek Sharma returned to the T20 World Cup crease against Pakistan, only to depart scoreless after four balls. Caught by Shaheen Afridi off Salman Agha’s delivery, the opener’s woes persist post a stomach bug that ruled him out versus Namibia.
Abhishek’s tournament ledger reads grim: ducks in both outings, including a first-ball exit against USA. His T20I form over recent six innings shows four zeros, punctuated by 68* (20) and 30 (16) vs New Zealand—totaling 98 runs.
Suryakumar Yadav’s India debuted changes: Abhishek for Samson, Kuldeep for Arshdeep. Playing XI: Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah.
Unchanged Pakistan: Salman Agha (c), Sam Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Usman Khan (wk), Shaheen Afridi, Abrar Ahmad, Usman Tariq.
India dominates head-to-head with 7 T20I wins from 8 vs Pakistan. R Premadasa stats: all three World Cup matches won by first innings; prior eight chases successful.
Abhishek’s slump tests selectors’ faith, but India’s bowling arsenal, led by Bumrah, could turn the tide in this rivalry renewed.