Abhishek Sharma scored a 20-ball half-century as India beat England by seven wickets Wednesday in the first T20 of their five-match series. India's opener smacked five fours and eight sixes, scoring 79 off 34 balls,

What was Abhishek's reward after the match? A standing ovation from a capacity Eden Gardens aside, praise from his mentor Yuvraj, albeit in a cheeky way.

Abhishek Sharma deserves a longer rope in the T20I side, said spinner Piyush Chawla after the batter's incredible 79-run knock against England. Abhishek lit up the Eden Gardens in the 1st T20I match vs England and scored a match-winning innings laced with 8 sixes and 5 boundaries.

The parallels between Abhishek’s performance and Yuvraj Singh’s legendary feats weren’t lost on fans or the cricketing fraternity.

Throughout the entirety of Indian teams playing Y20I matches, there have been a lot of players who have made big numbers for the team. Here is a list of players who have the fastest fifties for India.

Abhishek Sharma engineered an explosive performance and delivered India's second-fastest fifty for India against England (in terms of balls faced) in the T20I format at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Indian left-handers bashing English bowlers in the T20I format has been a love affair that became famous with Yuvraj Singh's exploits in the 2007 T20 World Cup.

Piyush Chawla on Abhishek Sharma. (Photo Source: Twitter/X) might have been under a little bit of pressure heading into the five-match T20I series against England. He scored a scintillating century against Zimbabwe in his second T20I appearance last year.