"He told me to be wise with picking the balls" - SRH's Abhishek Sharma on working with Brian Lara in IPL 2022

After a couple of poor outings, Abhishek Sharma rose to his potential against Chennai Super Kings last week. He scored his first half-century in the tournament and telling contributions from skipper Kane Williamson and Rahul Tripathi earned Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) their first win of IPL 2022.

The entire IPL team was under the pump, having lost their first two games. However, a four-day gap between the second and third games helped Hyderabad tighten the screws. Abhishek Sharma highlighted that spending time with batting coach Brian Lara has helped him live up to his potential.

Speaking ahead of their game against Gujarat Titans, the 21-year-old 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."

He played a fine knock of 75 runs off 50 balls, decorated by five boundaries and three sixes. Abhishek and Kane Williamson added 89 runs for the first wicket that set up the run chase for SRH in pursuit of 155 runs.

Shedding light on batting with the Kiwi captain, Abhishek Sharma said:

"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."

The cricketer from Punjab will hope to continue his run-scoring spree against Gujarat Titans, who are still undefeated in the tournament.

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"I just wanted to show my capability" - Abhishek Sharma on first IPL fifty

Abhishek was under scrutiny ahead of the game against Chennai, having scored only 22 runs in their first two matches. The match-winning knock a couple of nights ago will ease a lot of pressure from the youngster. He explained:

"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."

Meanwhile, speaking of the game, Sunrisers Hyderabad have opted to bowl first against Hardik Pandya and Co. at the DY Patil Sports Academy.