International Cricket
His form in England assured him of a Test place in the next few games. After scoring a pair against Australia in the Kanpur Test, Sharma scored his first Test hundred in the very next match. He could have scored another in the next Test at Calcutta, but with 3.4 overs still left before the end of the Test, he appealed against light. Through the 1979-80 season, Sharma played a series of steady but unexceptional innings where he often played a supportive role to a senior batsman. He was basically a defensive batsman but could hit very hard when needed.
He made his highest first class score against Victoria in 1980-81, a 465 minute 201*. In the Adelaide Test of that series, Sharma hit 47 and 147 with Sandeep Patil. This was his only innings of some consequence in the tour and he was soon dropped. On his comeback, at Madras in 1981-82, he hit 140. He batted through the second day of the match with Gundappa Viswanath and their third wicket partnership contributed 316 runs. At Port of Spain next year, he was struck on the head by Malcolm Marshall and forced to retire.
After a few ordinary performances, Sharma was picked for the Indian team for the 1983 World Cup. But the Indian win provided him with some of his finest moments. In the opening match he top scored with 89 as India caused West Indies their first defeat in a world cup match. In the semifinal against England he again top scored with 61 - a flick over square leg for six off a near yorker from Bob Willis being a memorable shot.
Read more about this topic: Yashpal Sharma
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