'You Still Can't...': Yuvraj mocks Abhishek Sharma after 35-ball 100 in 3rd T20I vs New Zealand

Abhishek Sharma’s mentor and former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh took a sly dig at the left-hander’s record-breaking outing in Wellington, which helped India beat New Zealand by six wickets in the third T20I. Abhishek smashed his fourth T20I hundred, first against New Zealand and the joint-second fastest among Indians in 35 balls.

While he made headlines all over for his blistering knock that bamboozled the Kiwis, Yuvraj shared a message for him on his X handle, writing that despite such heroics, Abhishek still couldn’t break his 12-ball fifty record. Yuvraj slammed the quickest T20I fifty during the 2007 T20 World Cup game against England, in which he hit six sixes in an over off Stuart Broad.

Praising the opening partnership (of 133 between Sooryavanshi and Abhishek), Yuvraj wrote, “You still can’t get 50 of 12 can you 😜 @OfficialAbhi04! Looks like two left-handers batting in their backyard!”

Replying to his mentor’s message during the post-match presentation, Abhishek said, “I mean, I've said this before as well. I don't know what cricket he was playing back at that time, but it's not that easy at all. And 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.”

Abhishek and Sooryavanshi ran riot during the Wellington T20I run chase, whacking 118 runs in the first six overs – a world record. The two left-handers dismantled the attack from the word go. While Sooryavanshi fell five shy of his third T20I fifty, his opening partner smashed his second hundred in this format in two months, and his first since registering the quickest in 30 balls against Afghanistan in September.

Earlier, the two openers also registered 26 runs to start the innings, creating a record for the most runs scored in the first over by a Test-playing nation.

Yuvraj’s 2nd Message for Indian Openers

Yuvraj, who recently joined Delhi Capitals as their new batting coach, again took to his social media handle to post another message for the two batters.

This time he praised Abhishek, saying, “And I can’t make 100 of 30 or 34 balls 😜 Well played sir @OfficialAbhi04! Great innings aur apne single bhi le liye 🤷🏻‍♂️ Good stuff on the other end by #VaibhavSooryavanshi! Devastating combination! Hats off to @IamSanjuSamson, playing at no. 3 as a complete team man! Well-bowled by our bowlers to keep the score under 200! Great series win 👌 congratulations Team India 🇮🇳”

India and New Zealand will face off in the fourth T20I at Eden Park in Auckland on Friday (Oct 30).