Abhishek Sharma produced one of the most extraordinary innings in T20I history on 17 September, blasting a 30-ball century against Afghanistan in the third T20I at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
What happened
Chasing nothing in particular but batting like the scoreboard demanded it, Abhishek reached fifty in just 16 balls before adding his next fifty in a further 14, completing his century in 30 deliveries. He was eventually dismissed for 108 off 34 balls, an innings built on 11 sixes and nine fours, as India piled up 221 for 7 before bowling Afghanistan out for 94 to win by 127 runs and seal the series 3-0.
Why it matters
- It is the fastest T20I century by a batter from any ICC full-member nation, beating the previous record of 33 balls jointly held by Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza and New Zealand’s Finn Allen.
- It is also the fastest century by an Indian in the format, well inside Rohit Sharma’s long-standing 35-ball effort from 2017.
- It is the third-fastest T20I century in the format’s entire history, behind two knocks against Associate opposition.
The innings capped a dominant series for India, one built around a top order that also featured a rediscovered Sanju Samson and an in-form Ishan Kishan. For a full breakdown of exactly how the record stacks up historically, see our piece on how Abhishek broke India’s fastest-century record. For the numbers from across the whole series, our stats roundup of Abhishek’s series against Afghanistan has the full picture.
Fittingly, Abhishek marked the milestone with a brief meditation pose at the crease – a moment almost as talked-about afterwards as the innings itself. It was his third T20I century, moving him level with several of India’s most destructive white-ball batters in a format he has increasingly come to define.