NEW DELHI: Just 10 minutes into his net session on a quiet Sunday morning in Jaipur, Punjab captain Abhishek Sharma paused, turning to teammate Gaurav Chaudhary with a question that showcased both his intent and imagination.

"Field kya hai?" he asked, picturing an imaginary field setup.

Without missing a beat, the lanky off-spinner responded: "Mid-off single saving ke liye rakkha hai" (mid-off is placed to save singles).

What happened next was as thrilling as it was predictable. A familiar swing of the bat, a perfectly timed arc, and the ball vanished cleanly out of sight.

For the world's No. 1 T20 batter, defence took a backseat for nearly an hour, as he hammered at least 45 sixes at the scenic Anantam Cricket Ground, located just outside Jaipur on sprawling farmland.

It felt like a specialised batting session, with Abhishek deliberately taking on only spinners - off-breaks, leg-breaks, and slow left-arm orthodox - on a pitch that gripped sharply and offered significant turn for bowlers hitting the right areas.

Though the left-hander requested the groundsman to roll the pitch lightly, the challenge remained far from easy. The deliveries from the net bowlers continued to behave unpredictably - some shooting up unexpectedly, while others skidded dangerously low.

Abhishek encountered problems whenever the length was marginally shortened, but the way he used his feet was pure joy to watch. After getting beaten or seeing the ball jump off the spot, he would walk down the track, tap his bat at the indentation and then demonstrate his mastery.

Whenever the length was pulled back, he would dance down the track and loft both off-breaks and googlies (turning away from the southpaw) inside out over extra cover.

On at least five occasions, the ball landed in the portico of an adjacent high-rise residential building. The inside-out shot was repeated so often that the team’s head coach Sandeep Sharma jokingly quipped in Punjabi:

"Tu apni century poori karan layi extra cover de upar hi chakke maarna chaunda ae (You want to complete your century with only sixes over extra cover)."

A red fielding net was placed at short extra cover for the false shot, where the bat face normally closes against deliveries that stop and arrive late. He fell into that trap once but quickly adjusted, choosing to hit a few straight sixes instead.

When the 25-year-old arrived for training, around 45 minutes after the rest of the squad, he wanted to practise on one of the five centre strips - all red-soil tracks.

However, since the match strip was not marked, BCCI protocols did not allow him to bat there.

He then bowled left-arm spin for close to 40 minutes, exchanging batting notes with the head coach and assistant coach Uday Kaul.

Once the entire team had completed their session, it was time for the skipper to put his pads on.

He initially opted to face the pacers, but one of the young net bowlers consistently bowled on a fifth-stump line, prompting Abhishek to advise, "Bhai, you please come closer to the stumps."

Watching the world’s premier T20 batter also offered insight into his mindset - how he has trained himself to attack at all costs, a reflection of the team’s collective philosophy.

Six-hitting appeared like a second skin. While there were three to four dismissals during the hour-long nets, all came while defending.

While attacking, he always seemed in control - something India would hope to see over the next nine weeks.

(With PTI Inputs)