Lagatar24 Desk
Opener Abhishek Sharma slammed the fastest T20 International century by an Indian batter on Thursday, reaching three figures off just 30 balls during the third and final T20I against Afghanistan in Delhi, eclipsing Rohit Sharma’s nine-year-old record.
Record-Breaking Knock
Abhishek went past Rohit Sharma’s 35-ball century, scored against Sri Lanka in December 2017, to register the new benchmark for the fastest century by an Indian in the format. Batting at a strike rate of 317.64, he was eventually dismissed for 108 off 34 balls, an innings studded with 11 sixes and nine fours. His century also stands as the fastest by any batter against a Test-playing nation, and it came up with a single in the ninth over of the Indian innings. With the knock, Abhishek’s 30-ball hundred now ranks third on the overall list of fastest T20I centuries, behind Estonia’s Sahil Chauhan, who reached his century in 27 balls against Cyprus in June 2024, and Turkey’s Muhammad Fahad, who got there in 29 balls against Bulgaria in July 2025.
A Blitz From Ball One
Abhishek got going steadily before exploding into top gear, hitting his first boundary off the fourth ball of the innings. He found rhythm in the second over with two sixes and a four off Azmatullah Omarzai, then went after Fazalhaq Farooqi in the third over with two sixes and two fours off the first four deliveries. His fifty came up in the fifth over, off just 16 balls, taking India past the 100-run mark by the end of the powerplay. He fell on the penultimate ball of the tenth over, edging one behind off Rashid Khan. This is Abhishek’s third T20I century, to go with 12 half-centuries, and comes after he had earlier struck a 37-ball hundred against England at the Wankhede Stadium, which was previously his fastest for India. After the innings, a “meditation” celebration by Abhishek went viral on social media.
