The Indian team lost to the West Indies team by 24 runs in the fourth match of the five-match T20 tournament in Hyderabad. In this match, the West Indies set a target of 248 runs, but the entire Indian team could only score 223 runs. Thanks to this victory, the West Indies leveled the series score at 2-2.
An impressive performance was expected from Abhishek Sharma in Hyderabad. However, he did not meet expectations. Abhishek scored 29 runs off 24 balls, using 3 fours and one sixteen. Despite this modest innings, Abhishek achieved a significant milestone: he became the batsman who scored the highest number of sixteens in the calendar year from any full member team in T20 International.
This year, Abhishek hit 69 sixteens, thus overtaking Suryakumar Yadav. Previously, Suryakumar had hit 68 sixteens in 2022. Notably, this left-hander managed to reach a new milestone regarding sixteens despite a period of poor form this year.
In the match against the West Indies, Abhishek hit his first boundary on the seventh ball. At the beginning of the overs, Sandeep Samson held most of the initiative, while the Caribbean bowlers did not allow Abhishek to play freely. Even after the powerplay, his pace remained below 100. In the ninth over, Abhishek hit a powerful sixteen off Sharm Springer, and it was with this shot that he surpassed Suryakumar Yadav.
Abhishek Sharma started 2026 very brightly. In Nagpur against New Zealand, he scored 84 runs off 35 balls, including eight sixteens. Then in Guwahati, he played without getting out for 68 runs off 20 balls, hitting five sixteens. However, after this, his hitting went quiet for some time, and he was unable to start the game in many instances. Nevertheless, Abhishek returned with a strong performance and set a new record for sixteens.