Abhishek Sharma scored a blistering 28-ball century in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match today (Decmeber 5) between Punjab and Meghalaya.
Punjab bowlers restricted Meghalaya to 142-7 in their 20 overs. Abhishek, who bowls left-arm orthodox, opened the bowling and picked 2-24 from his four overs, while KKR all-rounder Ramandeep Singh who recently made his India debut, also picked two wickets, for 18 runs in two overs.
In response, the left-handed India opener came out all guns blazing. His opening partner, Harnoor Singh, was dismissed in the third over for six off seven, while No.3 Salil Arora was dismissed in the fourth for one off two. However, by the time the second wicket fell, Punjab had already reached 51 in 3.1 overs.
Abhishek then added 62 (29) for the third wicket with Sohraab Dhaliwal, out of which the SRH batter scored 39 (14). He then scored 23 runs in five balls in a nine-ball partnership with Ramandeep Singh which took Punjab over the line in 9.3 overs.
Full list: Fastest T20 centuries
In the process, Abhishek reached his hundred in just 28 balls, equalling the Indian record set by Gujarat wicketkeeper-batter Urvil Patel just about a week back when he smashed a century of the same number of deliveries against Tripura. Abhishek's knock included eight fours and 11 sixes as he finished unbeaten on 106 off 29.
With this, Abhishek has also climed to joint-second on the list of fastest T20 hundreds ever, just behind Estonia's Sahil Chauhan, who scored a 27-ball ton against Cyprus earlier this year.
As of December 5, 2024, Chahua, Patel, and Abhishek are the only three batters to have scored T20 hundreds in less than 30 balls.
Batter | Balls to 100 | Match (Team v Opposition) | Year |
Sahil Chauhan | 27 | Estonia v Cyprus | 2024 |
Abhishek Sharma | 28 | Punjab v Megalaya | 2024 |
Urvil Patel | 28 | Gujarat v Tripura | 2024 |
Chris Gayle | 30 | Royal Challengers Bangalore v Pune Warriors | 2013 |
Rishabh Pant | 32 | Delhi v Himachal Pradesh | 2018 |
Wihan Lubbe | 33 | North West v Limpopo | 2018 |
Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton | 33 | Namibia v Nepal | 2024 |
Sikandar Raza | 33 | Zimbabwe v Gambia | 2024 |
Andrew Symonds | 34 | Kent v Middlesex | 2004 |
Sean Abbott | 34 | Surrey v Kent | 2023 |
Kushal Malla | 34 | Nepal v Mongolia | 2023 |
Louis van der Westhuizen | 35 | Namibia v Kenya | 2011 |
David Miller | 35 | South Africa v Bangladesh | 2017 |
Rohit Sharma | 35 | India v Sri Lanka | 2017 |
Martin Guptill | 35 | Worcestershire v Northamptonshire | 2018 |
Khushdil Shah | 35 | Southern Punjab (Pakistan) v Sindh | 2020 |
Dewald Brevis | 35 | Titans v Knights | 2022 |
Usman Khan | 36 | Multan Sultans v Quetta Gladiators | 2023 |
Urvil Patel | 36 | Gujarat v Uttarakhand | 2024 |
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