On Monday, the second T20I between Estonia and Cyprus saw a piece of history created, as Estonian batter Sahil Chauhan smashed a 27-ball century, the fastest recorded in T20 cricket.
Chauhan achieved the feat in the second match of the day between the sides. Estonia were sent into the field by Cyprus, who scored 191-7 in their allotted 20 overs thanks to contributions throughout the batting lineup.
Estonia's chase then got off to a shaky start, as both openers were dimissed in the first eight balls. Chauhan walked in at number four with the scoreboard reading 9-2 in 1.2 overs. He scored 16 runs off the first three legal deliveries he faced before taking Arjun Shahi for 18 runs in the fifth over.
He reached his half-century in 14 balls thanks to consecutive sixes off Mangala Gunasekara in the sixth over, hitting 28 runs off the five balls he played. Four more sixes followed in the eighth over, at the end of which Chauhan was not out on 92 off 24 balls. His next two balls were a six and a single, taking him to 99. On the 27th ball he faced, he smashed Neeraj Tiwari for six to score the fastest century in T20 cricket, breaking the record previously held by Chris Gayle.
Chauhan went on to score another 39 runs off 14 balls, finishing on 144 not out from 41 balls as Estonia galloped past the finish line, scoring 194-4 in 13 overs. The 18 sixes he hit during the course of his knock constituted another record, albeit shared as he tied Gayle's tally during the latter's knock of 146* for Rangpur Riders against Dhaka Dynamites in 2017.
A tale of two innings for Sahil Chauhan
The innings will have meant even more to Chauhan, who did not have a good time with the bat in the first match of the day (and series) between the sides. Chasing 196 in that match, Estonia were 104-2 in 12.5 when he walked in but Chauhan was dismissed first ball, caught by James Chialoufas off Roshan Siriwardena.
His team did go on to win that match with three balls to spare though, thanks in large part to Steffan Gooch (40*) and captain Arslan Amjad (63), as well as 26 extras.
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