A four-ball duck followed by a 46-ball hundred in the first two matches of his international career is not something all can achieve.

But the dynamic and fearless Abhishek Sharma has shown that he has the potential to adapt to the changing demands of the shortest format of the game. The Sunrisers Hyderabad opener earned his India cap following a stupendous IPL where he made 484 runs at a strike rate of 204.

He survived on 27 in the second T20I in Harare on Sunday and carried on with renewed freedom. It paved the way for India’s 100-run win, which helped them level the five-match series 1-1.

“After that (drop) I thought it was my day,” Abhishek said after the match.

“(I felt) I should take a bit of responsibility.”Rutu (Ruturaj Gaikwad) was saying that it was a bit difficult to hit the fast bowlers, so we have to be a bit mindful. I felt that he was making sense. So, if you see, I didn’t play much shots to (Luke Jongwe). Just tried to get to the other end.”

“My mindset was like the one I had in the IPL and domestic cricket. It was all about the execution. It was better than yesterday (Saturday). As a batter, I thought about all the balls I played, it wasn’t many, and I was calculating the risk, I should take on the first over or if I should just play according to the ball. I think that execution went really well.”

The left-handed opener revealed that he had used Shubman Gill’s bat for the game, something he has regularly done in the past as well. The two players, coming from Punjab, had grown up playing together from a young age.

“The journey has been very beautiful,” Abhishek said. “When we started playing, we were around 10-11 years and we have been playing together since U-12. The ultimate goal was to represent the country. I have said this before that the first call I got (about selection) was from Shubman, he was very happy.

“I played with his bat and it went really well, special thanks to him for the bat. This happens from the U-12 days, whenever I think it’s a pressure game or it’s a match I should perform, I take his bat. Even in the IPL, I ask for his bat. Even today (Sunday) it went really well.”

He did not forget to credit former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh’s contribution too. “All this is due to the hard work I’ve done under Yuvraj,” he said.

“Special thanks to my dad who always encouraged me to play lofted shots even when I was a kid. Usually coaches don’t allow you to play lofted shots much.

“My dad used to tell me that if you want to play a lofted shot, it should go out of the ground. For me, it’s always been there from my childhood that if I’m confident, I like to express myself.

“I think IPL also plays a big role in this because as a youngster, as a debutant, we didn’t feel much pressure when we came to represent the country,” he said.