"Not fire and ice, just fire and fire" - Abhishek Sharma hails teammate's batting after AUS vs IND 2025 T20I series win

Abhishek Sharma described his opening combination with Shubman Gill as 'fire and fire' and not 'fire and ice' after India's T20I series triumph against Australia. Praising Gill, he said that batting with the right-hander is an enjoyable experience.

India clinched the five-match T20I series in Australia 2-1 after the final match at The Gabba in Brisbane on Saturday, November 8 ended in no result due to rain. Australia won the toss and asked India to bat first. Only 4.5 overs were possible in which Abhishek scored 23* off 13 and Gill 29* off 16.

At a press conference following the conclusion of the T20I series, a journalist described the Abhishek-Gill pair as a fire and ice combination. Abhishek, however, disagreed and replied:

"It's fire and fire, the way he was playing today."

The 25-year-old added that he shares an excellent rapport with Gill both on and off the field since the two have been playing cricket together since their U-12 days. The aggressive southpaw elaborated:

"We have been playing together since the U-12 days, so we have a very good understanding. I know which shots he is trying to play or which bowlers he can take on. We keep having conversations even during practice. He also knows which shots I can play, so sometimes he helps me out as well with batting tips.

"When you play together since a young age, he was my roommate as well, so we know a lot of things about each other both on and off the field. We enjoy [each other's company] on the field. As I said, it's not fire and ice, just fire and fire," Abhishek went on to add.

Abhishek struck one four and a six in his knock at The Gabba on Saturday, while Gill hit six fours - four of them coming in the third over bowled by Ben Dwarshuis.

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"I've been waiting for this tournament" - Abhishek Sharma reflects on Australia challenge

Abhishek was named Player of the Series for scoring 163 runs in five innings at an average of 40.75 and a strike rate of 161.39. Speaking at the post-match presentation, he reflected on the tour and commented:

I've been waiting for this tournament. When I got to know we're going to Australia for T20Is, I was very excited. Have seen throughout my career that Australia is very batting friendly. Feel that we could've got better totals in between."

During his knock on Saturday, the opener also reached 1,000 runs in T20Is. He is second on the list of Indians to reach the landmark in fewest innings. Abhishek needed 28 innings to reach 1,000 runs, while Kohli got there in 27 innings.