Abhishek Sharma rewrites India’s fastest T20I century record

Abhishek Sharma smashed a 30-ball century against Afghanistan in the third T20I at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, breaking Rohit Sharma’s record for the fastest T20I hundred by an Indian men’s batter. He finished with 108 off 34 balls

New Delhi: Abhishek Sharma smashed a record-breaking 30-ball century against Afghanistan in the ongoing third T20I at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Thursday.

Abhishek’s knock ended at 108 off 34 balls, with nine fours and 11 sixes, before he was caught behind by Rahmanullah Gurbaz off Rashid Khan in the 10th over.

His century eclipsed former India captain Rohit Sharma’s 35-ball hundred against Sri Lanka at Holkar Stadium in Indore in 2017, making it the fastest T20I century by an Indian men’s batter.

It was also the fastest century by a batter from a Test-playing nation in men’s T20Is. Overall, it was the third-fastest century in men’s T20I history, behind Estonia’s Sahil Chauhan (27 balls) and Turkey’s Muhammad Fahad (29 balls).

Starting cautiously with a boundary off pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi in the opening over, Abhishek shifted gears in the second over, hitting Azmatullah Omarzai for two sixes and a four.

He then clobbered Mohammad Nabi for two sixes and a four to bring up his half-century in just 16 balls. He scored 76 runs off 22 balls in the powerplay, the highest individual score in overs 1-6 in men’s T20Is.

Abhishek continued his assault against Mujeeb Ur Rahman and then Rashid Khan before reaching his century off 30 balls. He celebrated by sitting in a meditation pose.

Abhishek’s father, Rajkumar Sharma, watched from the hospitality stand and applauded the innings. India head coach Gautam Gambhir also applauded the knock from the dugout.

During his innings, Abhishek also set a new world record for the most T20I sixes in the powerplay in a calendar year. According to CricViz, he took his 2026 tally to 37 sixes, including seven in the powerplay in the ongoing game, surpassing his previous best of 34 sixes in the six-over phase in 2025.