Asked to bat first, India got off to a flying start in the fifth and final T20I against Australia at The Gabba in Brisbane on Saturday. India openers Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill went on the rampage from the word go making excellent use of the good batting conditions.
Abhishek hit a six and four in his 13-ball 23, while Gill smashed 6 fours in his 16-ball 29 to bring up the Indian 50 in 4.4 overs.
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Thanks to his onslaught, Abhishek completed 1000 T20I runs, becoming the second fastest Indian batsman to do so. Virat Kohli holds the record for the fastest 1000 runs in T20I cricket in 27 matches, while Abhishek got to the mark in 28 matches.
Abhishek is followed by Indian batting stalwarts KL Rahul (29), Suryakumar Yadav (31) and Rohit Sharma (40) in the list of Indian batsmen to get to the 1000-run mark.
But just when the Indian openers on the rampage with the score at 52/0 in 4.5 overs, play was stopped. The interruption caught the cricketers by surprise, because there was no rain. Instead, the cause of the interruption was lightning.
Yes, as the players walked off the field and the ground staff brought on the covers to protect the pitch, the giant screen at The Gabba displayed a message saying that there is some "severe weather" around and that it is "unsafe to remain in open areas".
The spectators were also moved from the lower stands as well to stands with overhead shelter, even though there was no rain. Official word soon came in that play was indeed stopped due to lightning.
India hold an unassailable 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
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