Abhishek Sharma returned to form in the Super 8 match against Zimbabwe on Thursday, and dedicated the half-century to his team.
A rampant India piled up a record total and handed Zimbabwe a 72‑run shellacking in a Super 8 contest on Thursday with opener Abhishek Sharma back among the runs after a lean patch at the T20 World Cup.
Sent in, the hosts blasted 256‑4, the tournament's highest score this year, after Abhishek and Hardik Pandya smoked blistering half‑centuries.
It rained 17 sixes and as many fours at Chennai's MA Chidambaram Stadium as India's top order feasted on a modest Zimbabwean attack made even blunter by their sloppy catching.
Abhishek acknowledged the support of his teammates and the management in his return to form.
'I wasn't doing so well. I was trying my best but it still wasn't coming out, the outcome wasn't there. But my teammates, coaches, they all just wanted me to do well. That was one of the best feeling I had...' Abhishek said.
Abhishek relieved to get on the scoreboard
'It was a relief (to get runs). But what I felt, the days I have spent with the team, it was more like they had more belief than me. So that was the one thing I really enjoyed and it made me a bit emotional as well.'
'I dedicate this to my team. I love this team, the way they have kept this team together and they all wanted me to do well,' he said.
'I feel the love, the support my teammates have shown me'
Adding that the team is like family, the opener said: 'It's like you are in a family, it's not just a team. So you are that close with all the teammates and all the coaches. They actually want you do well.'
Speaking about his torrid run at the start of the tournament, Abhishek said: 'It (the tournament) didn't start the way I wanted. I was in hospital, I wasn't feeling so well. Playing the first game for the country and that too in the World Cup, I didn't have a positive start or the start that I wanted.
'But I feel the love, the support my teammates have shown me through these days, especially the coach and captain. No matter if you get a zero or get out early, you are going to play all the games and you're going to win the games for the team. So, it' s very important as a player to have that support from the team and the coaches,' he added.
'We want to dominate with the bat'
Stating that the team wants to put on big runs on the board, Abhishek said: 'As a batting unit, we want to play the way we've been playing the whole year. We have to dominate all the games. We displayed that today, the way we started, the way all the batters came and contributed, I think that's the way we are going to play.'
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