Abhishek amassed 106 runs off just 29 deliveries, including eight boundaries and 11 maximums, at a strike rate of 365.52.
Abhishek Sharma was at his menacing best during his team’s Syed Mushtaq Ali’s final match against Meghalaya in Rajkot. He scored the second-fastest century in T20 cricket and the joint-fastest century by an Indian batsman, bowling just 28 deliveries.
Fastest centuries by Indian batsmen in T20 cricket
Urvil Patel also took 28 deliveries for his ton against Tripura, and Abhishek has emulated his record. The fastest remains Sahil Chauhan, who needed just 27 balls to complete the triple-digit mark against Cyprus earlier this year.
Fastest centuries in T20 Cricket
Abhishek amassed 106 runs off just 29 deliveries, including eight boundaries and 11 maximums, at a strike rate of 365.52. Among his 100+ career knocks, his strike rate is the best in a T20 innings, surpassing Sahil Chauhan’s strike rate of 351.21.
92.45% of his runs came through fours and sixes, and Abhishek played just four dot balls while hitting a boundary every 1.53 deliveries during this knock. He now holds the record for most sixes (87) in a calendar year by an Indian batsman, surpassing the previous achievement of Suryakumar Yadav, who hit 85 sixes in 2022.
Punjab beat Meghalaya by 7 wickets in Rajkot
After winning the toss, Meghalaya opted to bat first and scored 142/7 in the allotted 20 overs. Arpit Bhatewara scored 31 runs, while Larry Sangma (21) and Yogesh Tiwari (20) also started but could not convert them into big scores.
Abhishek Sharma and Ramandeep Singh took two wickets, while Ashwani Kumar, Harpreet Brar and Sohraab Dhaliwal dismissed a batsman each for Punjab. Punjab lost Harnoor Singh (6) in the third over and Salil Arora (1) too could not hold on for long.
However, Abhishek Sharma was on a boundary-crossing spree and was fluent from the start. Sohraab Dhaliwal supported him well and compiled 22 runs off 15 deliveries, including two boundaries and a maximum, at a strike rate of 146.66.
Later, Ramandeep Singh (8) added the finishing touches as Punjab chased down the total in just 9.3 overs with 63 balls to spare. It was a complete team effort from Punjab but Abhishek Sharma, who single-handedly won the game for them, was ruthless with his approach.
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