Wellington, Oct 27 (PTI) Abhishek Sharma may have idolised Yuvraj Singh growing up but the India opener is not ready to take up his mentor’s challenge of smashing a half-century off 12 balls, saying such feats are “not that easy” despite his sensational century against New Zealand in the third T20 here on Tuesday.

Responding to Yuvraj’s playful social media message that he still could not score a fifty off 12 balls, Abhishek said batters do not chase such milestones.

His comments came after India registered a six-wicket, with the left-hander earning the Player of the Match award.

“I don’t know what cricket he was playing back at that time, but it’s not that easy at all,” Abhishek said during the presentation ceremony.

“I would say if any batter wants to go there and bat like that, it’s not easy at all. You can’t just go and score 50 off 12 balls. It just happens once in a while,” he added.

Abhishek said the focus, particularly for him and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, was to get the team off to a flying start.

“As a batter, we don’t go for that milestone. We always want to win the game for the team. So that was the plan, and that’s what we want to take throughout the series as well, and it went well,” he said.

Abhishek credited the coaching staff and the extensive practice with sidearm deliveries for helping him execute his natural game.

“I feel it’s not that, I wouldn’t say it’s easy, that easy, but it’s just the preparation behind the scenes. I would say a special mention to our coaches because of the sidearms; we’ve been playing them a lot,” he said.

“If you see the conditions and the dimensions, that’s always in your mind, and then you have to keep the bowlers also in your mind and play the shots according to the bowlers.

India’s victory secured a series win for the visitors in the five-match T20 rubber.

Abhishek said the team had a good practice session on Monday and he was keen to make the most of his time in the middle.

“We had a good practice session yesterday, and I just wanted to utilise it, and that’s what I did. I feel I pretty much, you know, manifested this innings, and it happened,” he said.

The left-hander also highlighted Sooryavanshi’s start in the opening over, saying it helped set the tone for the innings.

“The way he started the first over, Vaibhav, that was really special. And that was the plan for us, get the momentum for the team and then just keep going,” Abhishek said.

‘Absolutely stunning’

India batter Shreyas Iyer was effusive in his praise for the opening partnership.

“Absolutely stunning. It was pleasing to see. Even when I went out to bat it was seaming, Sanju and me were like, how did they manage to score so much,” Iyer said.

“The way they played today was exceptional. It was amazing the way the lads pulled up to this occasion, mind boggling.”

Iyer said India had to adapt their bowling plans after realising the extent to which the batters were capitalising on anything pitched up or delivered on a hard length.

“After 10 overs I realized that anything half volley or hard length it was going into the stands so we were looking to bowl wide yorkers. Our plan was to restrict them under 200,” he said.

‘Tough to stop India’

New Zealand captain Matt Santner acknowledged the difficulty of containing India’s aggressive batting, saying the visitors had shown how to make the most of the conditions.

“We’ve seen it in the IPL and obviously we are seeing it here in New Zealand (the way India batted). To get 200 on a wicket like that was nice. Reasonably happy,” Santner said.

“They showed how to bat. Guys who have gone in have kicked on, it’s pretty tough to defend against these guys.”

Santner added there was some assistance for the seamers, but India’s batters handled the spinners particularly well during the powerplay. PTI

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