Christchurch [New Zealand], October 23 (ANI): Indian batter Abhishek Sharma brought a Punjabi touch during his motivational speech for Team India ahead of their first T20I against New Zealand at Christchurch.
A 93-run stand between Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma and a fiery 15-ball 42* by Naman helped India chase dowm 226, their highest-ever in T20Is by five-wickets in hand. Abhishek played a vital hand in handing India a 1-0 lead, scoring a quickfire 12-ball 29.
Speaking a in video by BCCI, Abhishek said that the team made a few mistakes in their 2-2 draw against West Indies at home and played them as if they were their friends. He motivated the team to show the Kiwis that they are world champions.
๐ฃ๏ธ ๐๐๐ฉ'๐จ ๐จ๐๐ค๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ข ๐ฌ๐๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ค๐ง๐ก๐ ๐พ๐๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐จ Abhishek Sharma's fiery huddle speech set the tone ๐ฅ #TeamIndia backed it up with a clinical victory ๐ช #NZvIND | @OfficialAbhi04 https://t.co/DAu4PDiUdw
โ BCCI (@BCCI) October 23, 2026
"Few things from my side. I think against West Indies we did few mistakes, that we played them as our friends," he said.
"I think same with these guys. They (NZ) are going to challenge us in that way as well. So, let us show them why we are world champions."
"We are going to dominate here, and we are going to win from the very first game," he continued.
Bringing out a traditional Punjabi 'boli' or a verse, he motivated his team by saying, "And in Punjabi we say, if we rhyme well, we will perform well. So, Bari Barsi Khatan Gaya Si, Khatke Leanda Hand... Bari Barsi Khatan Gaya Si, Khatke Leanda Hand... Chalo Aaj Aapa Pehla Jitiye Match In New Zealand!"
To this traditional expression by Abhishek, the Men in Blue, including head coach Gautam Gambhir, responded with a lot of laughs, smiles and cheer.
A hard-hitting 82* by Glenn Phillips and powerplay pyrotechnics from Finn Allen and Tim Seifert helped New Zealand end at 225/4, their highest in home T20Is, against India in the first T20I of the five-match series at Christchurch on Thursday. Bhuvneshwar Kumar's return after four years was an underwhelming one, as he was carted for 49 in four overs. Arshdeep Singh, Mayank Yadav and Axar Patel got a wicket each, but each leaked runs in excess of 10 per over, with Glenn (82* in 40 balls, with eight fours and three sixes), Finn Allen (45 in 24 balls, with five fours and two sixes) and Bevon Jacobs (31 in 16 balls, with three sixes) firing all cylinders.
During the chase, Sanju (67 in 33 balls, with eight fours and four sixes) and Abhishek (29 in 12 balls, with two fours and three sixes) put on a 93-run stand for the first wicket. However, from 93/1, Team India collapsed to 122/4. Skipper Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel (24 in 14 balls, with three fours and a six) stitched a 45-run stand to bring back hope for India. Iyer (4i2 in 28 balls, with a four and two sixes) and Naman (42* in 15 balls, with five fours and two sixes) finished off the game with two balls in hand. (ANI)
