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India's star opener Abhishek Sharma credited the team's support for his half-century in the T20 World Cup final, saying they backed him even when he wasn't confident. Sharma also expressed gratitude to Shivam Dube for giving him his bat to play in the final.
A dominant batting show by the top-order of Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, and Ishan Kishan, and later fiery spells by Jasprit Bumrah and Axar Patel, helped Team India make history, beating New Zealand by 96 runs at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday. India became the first team to win the T20 WC title at home, the first team to win it back-to-back, and the first team to win the three T20 WC crowns. "The team wanted me to play and score when I was not. I think one thing is important, and that is your company. The people around you. They never doubted me despite the fact that I was not that confident. The company really matters. I played with Shivam Dube's bat, so thanks to him," Abhishek Sharma told the reporters after the match. Sharma could not have chosen a better time to roar back to form, as, following a slump in the tournament, the left-hander chose the ICC T20 World Cup final to slam the fastest half-century in the history of the T20 WC knockout stage. Before the high-stakes final at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium, Abhishek had failed to live up to his world number one-ranked billing except for a half-century against Zimbabwe in the Super Eights. Starting the tournament with three successive ducks and a struggle with food poisoning, Abhishek could barely buy a run and swung out of desperation and hope. However, in the title clash, Abhishek looked extremely brilliant against pacers, taking down Jacob Duffy for two fours, then Lockie Ferguson for a four and six in the fourth over. After a six-over long-off against Matt Henry, he slammed Duffy for six fours and a six in the final of the powerplay, bringing up his half-century in 18 balls, with three fours and four sixes. He ended his knock at 21-ball 52 at a strike rate of 247.62. (ANI)
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