5th T20: Abhishek Sharma leaves an indelible mark; Shami gets first wicket on return but Samson fails again

India obliterated England in Mumbai and finished off the five-match T20I series the way they started it - in style. Abhishek Sharma was head and shoulders above everyone else who batted and rampaged his way to 135, getting to his century off just 37 balls, and breaking all kinds of records in the process.

England showed some fight at the start of their batting innings but fizzled out soon, getting rolled over for 97 and slumping to a 150-run defeat, also losing by 38 runs to Abhishek.

Here is how the Indian players fared:

Aced the test: Abhishek Sharma, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakravarthy

Remember those days in the late 2000s, when virtual cricket games became a fad? Where smashing a six off every ball felt the only agreeable outcome? Where bowlers felt redundant and resembled bowling machines having wheels? Where a batter scoring a fifty inside 30 balls of play and a hundred inside eleven overs felt normal?

Well, those days are back. Not because there is a generation-defining cricket title adorning the racks, but because Abhishek, every time he walks out to bat, is making professional games of cricket, against the best teams in the world, look like…video games.

Attempting a description of what Abhishek did in Mumbai will likely be futile. Some knocks, some moments, some efforts are just worth reveling over and no words, no matter how hard anyone tries, will ever be able to do justice. But at the cost of trying (and probably failing), here it goes.

Abhishek saw the ball. Abhishek watched it closely onto his bat. And then Abhishek and thousands of others gazed as that ball sailed to different parts of the ground stands. His hitting was so pure, so crisp and so diverse that you would have to watch it to believe it.

A gloriously sumptuous and sublime innings that those at the Wankhede Stadium will never forget. A nightmare that England will not want to relive. And a dreamy knock that, day by day, feels incredibly close to…normal.

Speaking of video games, India have a T20 cheat code in Chakravarthy. Whenever the going gets tough, the captain tosses him the ball and he pulls rabbits out of his hat. In Mumbai, he conceded 25 runs in his two overs, but he dismissed Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone – two batters who could have changed the mood at the Wankhede Stadium.

And, he caught wonderfully on the fence. Which, if you have seen his past fielding shenanigans, should tell you all you need to know about his recent upturn, where everything he has touched has turned into gold.

His spin-twin Bishnoi was effective too. He bowled just the one over but bagged Harry Brook. Bishnoi did what was asked of him, in whatever exposure was given to him on the night. And no, a first-ball duck facing the 120th ball of the innings does not count.

Shami, who last played for India at the Wankhede Stadium in that semi-final against New Zealand, was, like that sultry evening in November 2023, in rich wicket-taking form. He took some tap in his first over but returned to outwit Ben Duckett, and then closed out the game with minimal fuss.

Dube dominating the middle overs, meanwhile, has been a common sight in the IPL since his move to the Chennai Super Kings. Sunday was not dissimilar. If anything, it answered a few questions that have perennially plagued him.

He faced zero balls of spin, yet, motored along at a strike rate of 230.76, smashing boundaries off Jamie Overton and Jofra Archer - including two pulls off the latter - and played a cameo that kept things ticking nicely for India. Later in the evening, he popped up to remove Jacob Bethell and Phil Salt. Maybe he was making up for missing out on bowling in Pune.

Partially met expectations: Axar Patel and Tilak Varma

There was not a lot Tilak needed to do, especially as Abhishek went ballistic at the other end. But given what Tilak has himself managed in the past few months, there was a sense that he left some runs out there. By no stretch, though, was it a no-show.

Axar got a couple of boundaries away and ensured India made it past 240. He did, however, take a single off the first ball of the 19th over (with Shami at the other end), which ultimately led to just three runs being scored off those six balls.

Did not meet expectations: Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh

The end result often makes you forget how an endeavour began. That will likely be true for Samson and his remarkably brisk stay at the crease on Sunday.

There was no holding back. There was no premonition of England trying something different. But there were flickering sparks of Samson looking for a comparatively nuanced riposte. He was inclined to move around his crease to get inside the line when England went short. While that was promising, it ended in analogous disappointment and frustration.

As they say, water is wet, grass is green, and Samson got caught in the deep trying to…well, you can make the rest up now.

Suryakumar’s dismissal did not show much divergence from this series’ mean either. He had to keep the scoring rate up but fell attempting a flick shot that he would have nailed nine times out of ten. In this series, those usually high-percentage shots have offered meagre returns and he needs one of those Suryakumar Yadav specials promptly to flip that narrative over.

Rinku’s reputation has taken a bit of a hit too. In Mumbai, he had the chance to power India to a total well in excess of 250. Unfortunately, he could not do that, extending a lean phase where he has mustered only 75 runs in his last six innings.

Hardik, who struck a splendid fifty in Pune, walked into drastically different circumstances in Mumbai, tasked with continuing India’s carnage or taking it to another level. When he clattered a pull over deep mid wicket, it seemed that would come to pass. Only for it to end one ball later.

Hardik’s evening did not improve with the ball, even though it began encouragingly and once Salt gauged Hardik’s plans, he was smashed around, ultimately conceding 23 off his two wicket-less overs.