IND vs SA: Abhishek Sharma smashes 50, but innings cut short as he departs quickly

One could call it redemption as Abhishek Sharma smashed a 24-ball 50! In the 3rd T20I of the 4-match series between India and South Africa, Abhishek went on a roll, despite losing his partner, Sanju Samson, for a duck at SuperSport Park in Centurion. He had not started the series well and had a string of low scores, but he made the most of a good batting wicket.

ALSO READ | IND vs SA, 2nd T20I: Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav all depart early; fans unhappy

However, on the very next ball, Keshav Maharaj sent him packing. Maharaj's experience got the better of Abhishek, as he knew the left-hander would come after him. The ball was bowled wide outside off, and Abhishek came down the track but couldn't reach it. Heinrich Klaasen quickly collected the ball and whipped off the bails.

Abhishek’s fine knock, which included 5 maximums and 3 fours, came to an end. Fans took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to praise the youngster, who had been under pressure but still managed to overcome the odds. Many even joked that he must have received a good pep talk from Yuvraj Singh to regain his form.

As of writing this article, India had also lost their captain, Suryakumar Yadav, for 1 off 4 balls. After 10 overs, India had scored 110 runs and lost 3 wickets. For the Proteas, Marco Jansen, Andile Simelane, and Keshav Maharaj each took one wicket.

Earlier, at the toss, South Africa won and opted to field. India made one change, with Ramandeep Singh making his debut in place of Avesh Khan. India has secured 21 wins in 23 T20Is in 2024 and will look to top it off with a series win here. 

IND vs SA teams:

India (Playing XI): Sanju Samson(w), Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Ramandeep Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakaravarthy

South Africa (Playing XI): Ryan Rickelton, Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram(c), Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen(w), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Andile Simelane, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Lutho Sipamla

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