Abhishek Sharma tore into Afghanistan’s bowling attack at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Thursday night, smashing the fastest century by an Indian in T20Is. The swashbuckling opener reached his hundred in just 30 balls, breaking Rohit Sharma’s record of 35 balls. His stunning knock also saw him become the fastest centurion from a Test-playing nation in T20Is, surpassing Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza and New Zealand’s Finn Allen, who had reached the mark in 33 balls.
The left-hander went after the Afghan bowlers from the very start, racing to his half-century in just 16 balls before taking his assault to another level in the third T20I. He made full use of the powerplay restrictions, hammering 76 runs inside the first six overs as India raced to 100, their highest-ever powerplay score in T20Is. Abhishek showed no signs of slowing down after reaching fifty, taking just 14 more balls to bring up his century. The second fifty was a brutal assault, with the opener finding the boundary repeatedly and leaving Afghanistan’s bowlers with very few answers. His onslaught completely shifted the momentum in India’s favour in front of a packed Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Fastest T20I hundreds
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
Fastest T20I hundreds by Test-playing nations players
30 – Abhishek Sharma (India) vs Afghanistan, Delhi, 2026
33 – Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe) vs Gambia, Nairobi (Ruaraka), 2024
33 – Finn Allen (New Zealand) vs South Africa, Kolkata, 2026
35 – David Miller (South Africa) vs Bangladesh, Potchefstroom, 2017
35 – Rohit Sharma (India) vs Sri Lanka, Indore, 2017
India vs Afghanistan Live Updates 3rd T20I
Abhishek did not ease off against either the pacers or Afghanistan’s quality spin attack, taking on Rashid Khan and the other bowlers with the same intent. Every bowler seemed to face the same treatment as the left-hander kept finding gaps and clearing the ropes with ease. Afghanistan struggled to contain him as the packed Arun Jaitley Stadium watched the youngster put on a stunning display of power hitting. Sanju Samson complemented Abhishek well at the other end, picking up boundaries whenever the opportunity came and, more importantly, ensuring the strike kept coming back to his partner. With Samson rotating the strike and Abhishek taking charge, India’s opening pair kept the scoreboard moving at a remarkable rate and left Afghanistan struggling to regain control of the contest.
His sensational knock ended on 108 when he edged a Rashid Khan delivery through to the wicketkeeper. But by the time the opener walked back, he had already done the damage, with India sitting on 142/1 after 9.5 overs and well on course for a massive total.