Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Abhishek Sharma explains what he has learnt from Brian Lara

Abhishek Sharma, who has been in and around the IPL scene for a while now, registered his maiden IPL half-century in the previous game against Chennai Super Kings. He recovered from a difficult start to the season with failures in the two previous outings to come back and smash 75 runs off 50 deliveries against the four-time IPL champions.

That win will do wonders for SRH’s confidence as they had been under the cosh in the previous two matches. With several issues still to address in both the batting and bowling departments, it was young Abhishek Sharma’s confident knock which inspired victory.

The 21-year-old revealed that he has received several important inputs from SRH batting coach and mentor Brian Lara which has helped his game. Ahead of the match against Gujarat Titans, he said, “We had a four-day rest after the second game. During the practice sessions at the time, Brian sir helped not just me but a lot of youngsters in the team. He told me, in particular, to just think positively and be wise with picking the balls (to go after). I just followed that and it has helped me a lot.”

Abhishek Sharma seems to be delivering on his initial promise finally. His innings of 75 runs against CSK included five boundaries and three sixes. He stitched a fine partnership of 89 runs for the first wicket with captain Kane Williamson and seems to have a good understanding with him. This opening partnership set SRH on course to reach the target of 155 runs set by CSK.

When asked about how it is batting with the New Zealand and Sunrisers Hyderabad captain, Abhishek mentioned, “We all know that when Kane plays well he makes sure we win. He just told me that he will play his natural game and I should go with my instincts so that is my role as his opening partner.”

Ahead of the match against Chennai, the youngster had received criticism for his failures in the opening matches. He had managed only 22 runs across the first couple of games. However, the match-winning knock has helped ease the pressure on young Abhishek.

“I just wanted to show my capability and from that aspect, it was a bit of a relief. For me, it’s always about the team winning when I play such an innings. That happened and I hope it keeps continuing,” he explained.