Abhishek Sharma's Record 30-Ball T20I Century as India Defeats Afghanistan

Delhi has seen its share of noise around cricket. This was different. This was a roar for something new.

Abhishek Sharma walked out for India against Afghanistan in the third T20I and tore up the record books, hammering a 30-ball hundred – the fastest T20I century ever by a batter from a Test-playing nation.

He didn’t just beat the mark. He obliterated it.

A hundred at fast-forward

Eleven sixes. Nine fours. One blur of an innings.

Abhishek’s 108 from just 34 deliveries rewrote the numbers that had belonged to Finn Allen and Sikandar Raza. Both had needed 33 balls for their T20I hundreds – Allen against South Africa in the T20 World Cup semi-final in Kolkata earlier this year, Raza against Gambia in October 2024.

Abhishek sliced three balls off that benchmark.

The knock also stands as the quickest hundred in a T20 international contested between two Test-playing nations, a pointed detail that underlines the quality of the opposition and the pressure of the stage.

India rode his onslaught to 221-7. By the time he walked off, Delhi knew it had watched something that will be replayed for years.

A place in T20I history

The global record still belongs elsewhere. Estonia’s Sahil Chauhan sits at the top of the men’s T20I list with a 27-ball hundred against Cyprus in 2024, while Muhammad Fahad’s 29-ball effort for Turkey against Bulgaria a year later also stays ahead on the all-time chart.

In the women’s game, Deandra Dottin’s 38-ball masterpiece for West Indies against South Africa in St Kitts in 2010 remains untouched.

But among the Test nations, among the big boys, Abhishek now stands alone.

He has rapidly built an imposing T20I résumé. This was his third international hundred in the format, taking him to third on India’s all-time list behind only Rohit Sharma (5) and Suryakumar Yadav (4). Not bad company for a player still chiselling out his place in a star-studded side.

Rohit had owned India’s previous fastest T20I ton, a 35-ball blitz against Sri Lanka in Indore in 2017. That record is gone now, claimed by a left-hander who seems to bat with the accelerator welded to the floor.

And this isn’t even his quickest. In domestic T20 cricket, Abhishek has already fired a 28-ball century for Punjab against Meghalaya in 2024. The signs were there. Delhi simply watched the international version.

Afghanistan swept aside

After the fireworks came the collapse.

Set 222, Afghanistan never got close. Their chase never settled, never threatened, and never recovered. India’s bowlers hunted in a pack, and the visitors folded for 94 all out in 14.1 overs.

Abhishek stayed in the game even without the bat, holding a catch as India tightened the screws. Nitish Kumar Reddy ripped through the middle order in a single over, snaring three wickets in the 12th to slam the door on any lingering hope.

The result sealed a 3-0 series sweep for India, emphatic in both scoreline and style.

On a night packed with numbers, one question lingered as the crowd drifted out of Delhi: if Abhishek Sharma is already striking hundreds this quickly, what happens when he truly grows into this format on the world stage?