Abhishek Sharma lit up the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in Hyderabad with one of the explosive knocks within the event’s historical past, smashing a 32-ball hundred that included 11 towering sixes. The Punjab captain, who had been fighting single-digit scores earlier within the competitors, lastly discovered his rhythm and demolished an skilled Bengal assault on Sunday morning on the Gymkhana Floor. Opening the innings after Punjab opted to bat, Abhishek started in breathtaking trend and stormed to a half-century in simply 12 balls. He tore into his former SunRisers Hyderabad teammate Mohammed Shami, taking 23 runs off a single over. His fifty was extraordinary not only for its velocity however for the way during which he bought there 50 of his first 51 runs got here in boundaries, with the left-hander hammering 5 sixes and 5 fours by the point he reached the milestone.
Abhishek and fellow opener Prabhsimran Singh gave Punjab a blistering begin, racing previous 120 runs inside eight overs. Prabhsimran additionally notched up a fifty as Punjab’s prime order dismantled the Bengal assault.
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The carnage continued as Abhishek pressed on with out let-up, registering a century in solely 32 balls. His ultimate tally earlier than reaching triple figures learn 11 sixes and 7 fours, marking his eighth T20 hundred in 157 innings. This places him stage with Rohit Sharma within the listing of Indian gamers with probably the most T20 centuries. Solely Virat Kohli, with 9, stands forward of them.
This innings additionally provides to Abhishek’s rising fame as one in every of India’s most harmful short-format hitters. Final yr, he produced a 28-ball hundred the joint-fastest by an Indian in T20 cricket towards Meghalaya within the earlier SMAT season. He additionally smashed 87 sixes throughout all T20s within the calendar yr, probably the most by any Indian male cricketer.
This stands because the third-fastest T20 hundred by an Indian. The all-time report a blistering 28-ball century is collectively held by Urvil Patel and Abhishek, each of whom achieved the feat in 2024.
Quickest T20 half-centuries
Participant – Balls – Match – Venue
Dipendra Singh Airee – 9 – Nepal vs Mongolia – Hangzhou
Ashutosh Sharma – 11 – Railways vs Arunachal Pradesh – Ranchi
Abhishek Sharma – 12 – Punjab vs Bengal – Hyderabad
Yuvraj Singh – 12 – India vs England – Durban
Chris Gayle – 12 – Melbourne Renegades vs Adelaide Strikers – Melbourne
Hazratullah Zazai – 12 – Kabul Zwanan vs Balkh Legends – Sharjah
Sahil Chauhan – 12 – Estonia vs Cyprus – Episkopi