IND vs ENG: 'Both played freely...', after playing a match-winning innings, Abhishek revealed the secret, told how he was successful

India's young T20 star opener Abhishek Sharma praised Gautam Gambhir after the hosts defeated England by seven wickets here on Wednesday. As far as traditional formats are concerned, Gambhir's coaching method is still undecided. The 24-year-old scored 79 runs off just 34 balls at Eden Gardens to help India reach the target of 133 runs in just 12.5 overs.

What did Abhishek say after the match?

Abhishek said after the match, "I wanted to say my point, but I would like to make a special mention of the captain (Suryakumar Yadav) and the coach (Gambhir). The freedom they have given us as youngsters is tremendous." While there were talks of Gambhir not getting along with the senior players during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Abhishek praised the dressing room atmosphere.

'I have never seen such an atmosphere in the dressing room'

Abhishek said, "I have never seen such an atmosphere before, express yourself, hit your shots from the first ball itself." When asked about his plan, he said that it was very simple, just like he plays in the IPL. The left-handed batsman, who plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad, said, 'My plan was simple, play the way I used to play in the IPL.'

How did he face the English fast bowlers?

Using the pace of the balls of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood, he stood firm at the crease. He said, 'I knew that the England bowlers would bowl short and test my patience. I implemented my plans very well.' India captain Suryakumar Yadav said that after winning the toss, India's energy set the tone of the match. He said, 'We have been given a lot of freedom, we want to play a little differently. The bowlers made a plan, executed it and the way we batted was the icing on the cake. We did the same in South Africa.'

Suryakumar said this

He said, 'Hardik had the responsibility to bowl the new ball so that the extra spinner could get space to play. Varun Chakravarthy is preparing well and Arshdeep is taking extra responsibility. England captain Jos Buttler said his team wants to be "aggressive" under new coach Brendon McCullum, who introduced the ultra-aggressive badball style of batting in the Test format.