Abhishek Sharma turned the third and final T20 International against Afghanistan into a personal highlight reel, smashing his way into the record books at New Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium.
The left-handed opener reached his century in just 30 balls, becoming the fastest Indian batter to score a T20I hundred and the fastest batter from a full-member Test-playing nation to reach the milestone.
Sharma eventually departed for 108 from 34 balls, hitting nine fours and 11 sixes at a strike rate of more than 317. His century came in the ninth over, leaving Afghanistan’s bowlers with little room to recover.
India explodes in powerplay
Sharma’s assault began almost immediately. He raced to his half-century in only 16 balls before continuing to attack Afghanistan’s bowling.
India reached 100 without losing a wicket inside the first six overs, with Sharma contributing 76 runs from just 22 deliveries during the powerplay. That also gave him the highest individual score recorded during the opening six overs of a men’s T20I.
Sanju Samson provided support at the other end and eventually scored 50, helping India maintain its extraordinary scoring rate after Sharma’s dismissal.
By the time Sharma was caught by Rahmanullah Gurbaz off Rashid Khan, he had already done the damage.
Afghanistan faces 222-run target
India finished its innings at 221 for seven, setting Afghanistan a target of 222.
The match is the third and final game of the series, with India having already won the first two matches. Afghanistan won the toss and elected to field, but Sharma’s extraordinary opening assault quickly shifted the momentum toward India.
Afghanistan began its chase aggressively, with Rahmanullah Gurbaz and captain Ibrahim Zadran taking the attack to India’s bowlers during the opening overs.
But India struck back when Axar Patel dismissed Gurbaz for 15, followed shortly afterward by Sediq Atal for just one. Afghanistan was 33 for two as the chase began to lose momentum.
For Sharma, however, the night was already historic. His 30-ball century broke Rohit Sharma’s previous Indian record of 35 balls and placed him among the fastest century-makers in T20 international history.
