Former South African captain Faf du Plessis stated that Abhishek Sharma would have heaved a huge sigh of relief after registering a half-century in the T20 World Cup 2026 match against Zimbabwe. Du Plessis said that even though the knock came against a relatively weaker bowling attack, it was important for the southpaw to get back among the runs.

India beat Zimbabwe by 72 runs at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Thursday, February 26 in a Super 8 clash of the T20 World Cup 2026. Sent into bat, the Men in Blue posted 254-6 on the board – their highest total in the ICC event. Abhishek, who was under pressure after a string of failures, top-scored for the Men in Blue with 55 off 30 balls.

During a discussion on ESPNcricinfo, du Plessis emphasized on the significance of Abhishek’s half-century against Zimbabwe in the crucial T20 World Cup clash. He opined:

“Massive innings. Regardless of how many runs you have scored before the World Cup, when you don’t score runs for 3-4 games in a row, every single batter in the world starts feeling the pressure, starts feeling the confidence dropping. He can breathe now. He has got some runs and he will carry that [confidence] now into the rest of the World Cup. The stars were aligned for him to get back into form.”

Former India leg-spinner Anil Kumble also agreed that the left-handed opener will feel a lot more settled when he walks into bat against the West Indies. He stated:

“This fifty will certainly give him a lot of confidence for the rest of the tournament. Abhishek will be a lot calmer when he takes guard against West Indies.”

Abhishek struck four fours and as many sixes in his fluent knock against Zimbabwe in Chennai. He added 48 for the first wicket with Sanju Samson (24 off 15) and 72 for the second wicket with Ishan Kishan (38 off 24). Abhishek’s knock ended when he miscued a slower ball off Tinotenda Maposa to long-on.

Abhishek Sharma’s performance in T20 World Cup 2026 so far

Abhishek went into the T20 World Cup 2026 with massive expectations, but struggled for runs before finally breaking the shackles against Zimbabwe. In five innings, he has scored 70 runs at an average of 14 and a strike rate of 140.

The 25-year-old dismissed for a first-ball duck in India’s opening match against the USA in Mumbai, caught at deep cover. After missing the Namibia game due to a stomach upset, he fell to Salman Agha for a duck against Pakistan in Colombo. Abhishek was bowled by Aryan Dutt for 0 against Netherlands in Ahmedabad. He opened his account against South Africa in Ahmedabad, scoring 15 off 12 balls.