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The former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan showered immense praise on Indian batters Abhishek Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav after both batters put on a swashbuckling batting display on Sunday to help India defeat New Zealand by 8 wickets and gain an unassailable 3-0 lead over the visitors in the five-match T20I series.
After restricting New Zealand to 153/9 in 20 overs, India chased down the target in just 10 overs. Chasing 154, India recovered from the early loss of Sanju Samson for a golden duck with a blistering batting display, led by Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma, to completely dominate the chase. The pair attacked the New Zealand bowlers from the outset, helping India race to 49/1 in three overs and register their quickest team fifty in T20Is, reaching the mark in just 3.1 overs. Abhishek continued his onslaught by smashing a 14-ball half-century, the second-fastest for an Indian, as India piled up 94/2 in the powerplay -- their second-highest powerplay total and the highest ever against New Zealand. With Suryakumar Yadav also bringing up a rapid fifty, his second of the series, India chased down the 154-run target in just 10 overs to take an unassailable 3-0 lead. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Irfan Pathan praised Abhishek Sharma for his explosive batting, calling his second-fastest T20I fifty for India outstanding and saying his fearless approach reflects the influence of his mentor Yuvraj Singh. "Abhishek Sharma smashed the second-fastest T20I fifty for Team India, second to only after his mentor Yuvraj Singh. This is outstanding. It's as if he is destined to mimick his idol Yuvraj Singh. Stepping out on the very first ball that he faced and hitting it for six, if there's one batter who can teach that, it's him." Pathan also lauded Suryakumar Yadav's return to form, saying his back-to-back half-centuries show he is in solid touch and fully back in his comfort zone. "I had strong belief that Suryakumar Yadav is going to come back in form. He played good in the first match as well, scored a half-century in the second and then he followed it up with another fifty in Guwahati. It shows that he is in solid form. Surya is back! He looked in his comfort zone," Pathan said. While Abhishek Sharma has scored 152 runs in the three T20Is so far, the Indian skipper, Suryakumar Yadav, has scored 171 runs in the series, with two T20Is yet to go. (ANI)
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