New Delhi (Gurpreet Singh): Indian opening batter Abhishek Sharma etched his name into cricket history on Thursday by smashing the fastest T20 International century by an Indian, reaching the milestone off just 30 balls during the third and final match against Afghanistan in New Delhi. The left-handed opener produced a breathtaking blitz, hammering 108 runs off 34 deliveries with 11 towering sixes to eclipse former skipper Rohit Sharma’s national benchmark of 35 balls set against Sri Lanka in December 2017. The milestone also stands as the fastest century by any cricketer from an ICC Full Member nation against another Test-playing side, eclipsing Finn Allen’s 33-ball display against South Africa.
With India having already wrapped up the series, Abhishek infused energy into the dead rubber from the outset as India batted first for the first time in the contest. Disdaining pace and spin alike, he dispatched deliveries cleanly over the bowler’s head, exploiting room for inside-out drives and holding his ground to muscle shots down the fairway. The explosive assault propelled India to a commanding 100 for no loss within the powerplay overs, establishing the team’s highest ever total in the opening six-over phase in T20 Internationals.
Opening partner Sanju Samson took a back seat during Abhishek’s powerplay fireworks before compiling a composed 50 off 35 balls, his second consecutive half-century of the series. The commanding form shown by both established openers cements their combination at the top of the order, leaving reserve talent Vaibhav Sooryavanshi awaiting future opportunities. Afghanistan’s bowling attack struggled to curb the onslaught, with pacers Azmatullah Omarzai and Fazalhaq Farooqi leaking 17 and 23 runs in their initial overs, while early spin adjustments yielded no respite.
Abhishek raced to his personal half-century in merely 16 deliveries before crossing into triple figures in the ninth over. He pulled Abdullah Ahmadzai to advance to 99 and reached his three-figure milestone with a single, celebrating the historic feat by assuming a seated meditation pose as the home crowd rose to applaud. Despite the record-breaking start, the visiting side fought back in the closing overs, restricting India to 221 for seven after conceding just 37 runs for four wickets across the final five overs.
