Source cricinfo
NEW DELHI — India opener Abhishek Sharma etched his name into cricket history at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, obliterating the record for the fastest Men’s T20I century by a Full Member batter.
In a breath-taking display of power-hitting during the third T20I against Afghanistan, the 26-year-old left-hander brought up triple figures off just 30 deliveries, shattering the previous Full Member benchmark and eclipsing Rohit Sharma’s longstanding Indian record of 35 balls set in 2017.
Sent in to bat after Afghanistan won the toss, Sharma launched into an unrelenting aerial assault from the opening over. Treating Delhi’s short boundaries with disdain, he cleared the ropes with effortless pick-up pulls and towering lofted drives down the ground. He brought up his fifty in a mere 14 balls before shifting into overdrive against both pace and spin.
Sharma concluded his whirlwind knock with a blistering 108 off just 34 deliveries, peppering the ground with 9 fours and 11 sixes at a mind-boggling strike rate of 317.65.
Fastest T20I Hundreds by Full Member Batters
Abhishek Sharma (India) – 30 balls vs Afghanistan, Delhi (2026)
Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe) – 33 balls vs Gambia, Nairobi (2024)
Finn Allen (New Zealand) – 33 balls vs Pakistan, Dunedin (2024)
David Miller (South Africa) – 35 balls vs Bangladesh, Potchefstroom (2017)
Rohit Sharma (India) – 35 balls vs Sri Lanka, Indore (2017)
Upon reaching the three-figure milestone with consecutive boundaries, Sharma celebrated with his signature calm yoga pose before raising his bat to a roaring home crowd.
His blitz powered India to a mammoth 221 for 7 in their 20 overs, effectively batting Afghanistan out of the contest and setting up an emphatic series sweep. The innings solidifies Sharma’s emergence as the premier dynamic top-order weapon in modern international cricket.
