Abhishek Sharma Smashes Fastest-Ever T20I Century by an Indian Batter

Abhishek Sharma produced the fastest T20I century ever by an Indian batter, reaching three figures off just 30 balls during the third and final T20I against Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi.

Opening the innings, Sharma raced to his fifty in only 16 balls before accelerating further, needing just 14 more deliveries to bring up his century. He was eventually dismissed for 108 off 34 balls, an innings built on 9 fours and 11 sixes at a strike rate north of 317. The knock comfortably eclipsed Rohit Sharma's previous Indian record of a 35-ball hundred against Sri Lanka in 2017, and stands as the fastest T20I century by a batter from any ICC Full Member nation — behind only Estonia's Sahil Chauhan (27 balls) and Turkey's Muhammad Fahad (29 balls) on the all-time list, which also includes Associate nations.

It was Sharma's third T20I century, moving him behind only Rohit Sharma (5) and Suryakumar Yadav (4) on India's all-time list. His innings powered India to 221/7, with Afghanistan set a stiff target of 222 to win the dead-rubber finale of the series.