Indian opener Abhishek Sharma showed his annoyance at the excess aggression exhibited by Pakistan players in their Asia Cup Super 4 match on Sunday.
He revealed that taking an ultra-aggressive batting strategy was the best response to such in-your-face adversity. Abhishek hit a rapid-fire 74 off 39 balls and, along with Shubman Gill, formed a 105-run opening stand as India overhauled a 172-run target with six wickets to spare.
"Today it was very easy, the way they (Pakistan players) were approaching us for no reason, I did not like it at all and this is the only way (his attacking batting) I could administer medicine to them," Abhishek mentioned at the post-match ceremony.
Abhishek and Gill experienced some hot spells from Pakistani pacers Haris Rauf and Shaheen Shah Afridi at the DICS.
Abhishek also showed his pleasure at having a solid opening stand with Gill, with whom he has an old relationship from age-group cricket.
"We have been playing since school days, we enjoy each other's company, we thought we would do it and today was the day. The way he was giving it back, I really enjoyed it.
"It's (the way he bats) because the team supports me. That's the intent I show and I'm practicing really hard and if it's my day, I'm gonna win it for my team," he added.
India’s star pacer Jasprit Bumrah had a rare off-day, conceding over 10 runs per over in his four-over spell. However, skipper Suryakumar Yadav did not read too much into it.
"That's fine, he's not a robot, he will have a bad day someday. But (Shivam) Dube bailed us out of the situation," he said.
Suryakumar also complimented the top two for creating a perfect platform for India to start.
"They complement each other really well (Abhishek and Gill). It's like a fire and ice combination," he said with a grin, half-seriously threatening fielding coach T Dilip with sending mail to the players regarding the four chances they dropped in the match.
The Mumbai captain was satisfied with the way the team recovered from a sluggish first 10 overs where Pakistan was scoring at over nine runs an over.
"The way the boys are stepping up in every game, it's making my job very easy. The boys showed a lot of character.
"They were calm after the first 10 overs (of India's bowling innings). After drinks, I told them the game starts now," he noted.
Pakistan skipper Salman Agha acknowledged that India's Power Play batting turned the match around.
"We are yet to play a perfect game, but we are getting there. A great game but in the Power Play they took the game away from us.
"Looking back with the position we were in after 10 overs, we could have got 10-15 more. 170-180 is a good total but in the Power Play they batted well, that was the difference," said Agha.
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