(ESPN) Abhishek Sharma has broken the record for the fastest T20I hundred by a Full Member batter. The India opener got to his century off just 30 balls in the third T20I against Afghanistan in Delhi, bettering the previous record – jointly held by Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza (vs Gambia in 2024), and New Zealand’s Finn Allen (vs South Africa at the 2026 T20 World Cup) – by three balls.
Abhishek’s effort also put the previous India record – Rohit Sharma’s 35-ball ton against Sri Lanka in 2017 – firmly in the shade.
Sahil Chauhan, who smashed a 27-ball ton for Estonia against Cyprus in 2024, continues to hold the record for the fastest century in all T20Is.
This was Abhishek’s third T20I hundred. Only Rohit (5) and Suryakumar Yadav (4) have scored more centuries among India batters.
Abhishek took 16 balls to score his first fifty, and gave Afghanistan no respite after getting to that milestone, taking only 14 more balls to rush to his century. He eventually fell in the tenth over of India’s innings, having scored 108 off 34 balls. He had hit nine fours and 11 sixes – one every 3.09 balls. At the time of his dismissal, India were 142 for 1, which meant he had scored just over 76% of his team’s total at that point, with his opening partner Sanju Samson contributing 34 off 25 balls to their partnership.
Before this match, Abhishek had climbed to No. 2 on the ICC’s T20I rankings for batters, with only his team-mate Ishan Kishan ranked above him.
Discussion