Abhishek Sharma rewrote the T20I record books on Thursday, September 17, with a 30-ball century against Afghanistan in the third T20I at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi. The left-handed opener finished with 108 off 34 balls (9 fours, 11 sixes, strike rate 317.65) as India posted 221/7 and completed a 3-0 series sweep with a 127-run win.
The blistering knock from Abhishek dismantled several long-standing batting records in international T20 cricket. IND vs AFG 3rd T20I Playing XIs Afghanistan: Ibrahim Zadran (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sediqullah Atal, Abdullah Ahmadzai, Darwish Rasooli, Noor Rahman, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and Fazalhaq Farooqi India: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Yash Thakur, and Jasprit Bumrah Reaching triple figures in 30 balls, Abhishek broke Rohit Sharma’s nine-year-old national record (35 balls against Sri Lanka in Indore, 2017). Batter Balls Opponent Venue Year Abhishek Sharma 30 Afghanistan New Delhi 2026 Rohit Sharma 35 Sri Lanka Indore 2017 Suryakumar Yadav 45 Sri Lanka Rajkot 2023 KL Rahul 46 West Indies Lauderhill 2016 Abhishek Sharma 47 Zimbabwe Harare 2024 Surpassed the previous record of 33 deliveries held by Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza (vs Gambia, 2024) and New Zealand’s Finn Allen (vs South Africa, 2026). 30 – Abhishek Sharma (India) vs Afghanistan, Delhi, 2026 33 – Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe) vs Gambia, Nairobi (Ruaraka), 2024 33 – Finn Allen (South Africa) vs New Zealand, Kolkata, 2026 35 – David Miller (South Africa) vs Bangladesh, Potchefstroom, 2017 35 – Rohit Sharma (India) vs Sri Lanka, Indore, 2017 Sits behind only Estonia’s Sahil Chauhan (27 balls vs Cyprus, 2024) and Turkey’s Muhammad Fahad (29 balls vs Bulgaria, 2025) on the all-time international list. 27 – Sahil Chauhan (Estonia) vs Cyprus, Episkopi, 2024 29 – Muhammad Fahad (Turkey) vs Bulgaria, Sofia, 2025 30 – Abhishek Sharma (India) vs Afghanistan, Delhi, 2026 33 – Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton (Namibia) vs Nepal, Kirtipur, 2024 33 – Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe) vs Gambia, Nairobi (Ruaraka), 2024 33 – Finn Allen (South Africa) vs New Zealand, Kolkata, 2026 Smashed 76 runs off 22 balls within the first six overs, surpassing Portugal’s Kuldeep Gholiya (74* vs Malta, 2023) and Australia’s Travis Head (73* vs Scotland, 2024). 76*(22) – Abhishek Sharma (IND) vs AFG, Delhi, 2026 74*(25) – Kuldeep Gholiya (Portugal) vs Malta, Gibraltar, 2023 73*(22) – Travis Head (AUS) vs SCOT, Edinburgh, 2024 68*(21) – Wintley Burton (SER) vs BUL, Sofia, 2022 68*(28) – George Munsey (SCOT) vs Austria, Edinburgh, 2023 Powered India to a record 100 runs in the first six overs of a Men’s T20I. 116/0 – Romania vs Serbia, Sofia, 2021 113/1 – Australia vs Scotland, Edinburgh, 2024 103/1 – Zimbabwe vs Gambia, Nairobi (RSC), 2024 102/0 – South Africa vs West Indies, Centurion, 2023 100/0 – England vs South Africa, Old Trafford, 2025 100/0 – India vs Afghanistan, Delhi, 2026 After bringing up a 16-ball half-century, he required just 14 additional deliveries to motor from 50 to 100. Six Records 13 – Abhishek Sharma vs ENG, Mumbai WS, 2025 11 – Abhishek Sharma vs AFG, Delhi, 2026 10 – Rohit Sharma vs SL, Indore, 2017 10 – Sanju Samson vs SA, Durban, 2024 10 – Tilak Varma vs SA, Johannesburg, 2024 10 – Ishan Kishan vs NZ, Thiruvananthapuram, 2026 108 – Abhishek Sharma in 2025 (7.35) 96 – Abhishek Sharma in 2026 (6.64) 87 – Abhishek Sharma in 2024 (6.54) 86 – Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in 2026 (4.99) 85 – Suryakumar Yadav in 2022 (10.05) Abhishek’s knock came to an end in the 10th over when he edged Rashid Khan behind to Rahmanullah Gurbaz, but not before providing a clinic in modern power-hitting and rewriting the T20 record books.
