Abhishek Sharma's Record 30-Ball Century Shakes Delhi
On a heavy, hazy evening in Delhi, Abhishek Sharma didn’t so much bat as detonate.
Thirty balls. That’s all he needed for a century – the fastest T20 international hundred ever scored in a match between two full-member nations – as India piled up 221-7 against Afghanistan in the third T20.
By the time he finally walked off for 108 from 34 deliveries, the outfield felt smaller, the bowlers looked shorter, and the scoreboard resembled a misprint.
A powerplay turned supercharged
India chose violence early.
Opening the innings, Abhishek launched into Afghanistan’s attack with a clarity of intent that left no room for doubt. Anything in his arc disappeared. Anything marginally outside it often went the same way.
He carved nine fours. He launched 11 sixes. The ball kept vanishing into the Delhi night, and Afghanistan kept searching for answers that never arrived.
The numbers behind the chaos were staggering. When he reached his hundred in the ninth over, India were 132-0. Of his first 100 runs, 96 came in boundaries. Only three singles and a two broke the sequence of pure, brutal hitting.
The single that took him to three figures was almost jarring in its normality. A quiet nudge, a roar from the crowd, and a brief pause in the carnage.
Samson steadies as Abhishek storms
At the other end, Sanju Samson played the role of calm accomplice.
His 50 from 35 balls might look measured, even sedate, alongside Abhishek’s fireworks, but it gave the innings shape. While the left-hander tore into the attack, Samson held a line, rotating strike, picking his moments, ensuring India never lost the tempo Abhishek had created.
When wickets did eventually fall and the early storm eased, Samson’s half-century kept India on course for a total that always felt out of Afghanistan’s reach, long before they had a chance to reply.
Omarzai offers resistance amid the wreckage
In an innings dominated by one man, Azmatullah Omarzai still found a way to stand out.
His figures – 2-27 – were comfortably the most respectable among Afghanistan’s bowlers. He hit a hard length, mixed his pace, and, crucially, found a way to keep Abhishek quiet more often than most.
It wasn’t enough to stem the flood, but it stopped it from becoming a full-blown catastrophe.
A statement knock
India’s 221-7 came with a familiar message in modern T20 cricket: no total feels safe, but some feel suffocating.
Abhishek’s innings did more than light up a dead rubber. It sharpened the conversation around India’s top-order options and underlined just how destructive he can be when conditions, confidence and intent align.
Afghanistan, yet to bat, faced not just a target but a mood. How do you chase down a score built on that kind of audacity?
