Abhishek Sharma shattered records in New Delhi on September 17, delivering a blistering century to propel India to a 3-0 T20I series whitewash against Afghanistan. The young left-hander reached his hundred in just 30 balls, setting a new benchmark for the fastest T20I century by a batter from a Full Member nation. This performance surpassed Rohit Sharma’s 2017 record of 35 balls, highlighting a dominant display of power hitting.
India finished their innings at 221/7. Abhishek’s assault began early against Fazalhaq Farooqi, from whom he extracted 23 runs in a single over. Supported by Sanju Samson, who contributed with consecutive sixes off Mohammad Nabi, Abhishek reached his fifty in a mere 16 balls. By the end of the Powerplay, India had reached 100 runs, with 76 coming directly from Abhishek’s bat. He achieved his third century in the format by the 8.3-over mark, marking the earliest point a player has ever reached a triple-digit score in a T20I.
Following Abhishek’s departure, the Indian lineup maintained an aggressive tempo despite losing wickets. Tilak Varma was dismissed early, and while Samson and Shreyas Iyer pushed the score forward, the team faced a series of wickets at the death. The final five overs yielded 37 runs for the loss of four wickets, setting a formidable target of 222 for the visitors.
Afghanistan’s chase started with promise, as Ibrahim Zadran hit a six in the opening over to help the team reach 31/0 after three overs. However, the momentum shifted decisively once Axar Patel entered the attack. He clean-bowled Rahmanullah Gurbaz, and shortly after, Sediqullah Atal was caught by Abhishek off Patel’s bowling. Jasprit Bumrah further tightened India’s grip by dismissing Darwish Rasooli.
The collapse continued as Yash Thakur claimed the wicket of Ibrahim Zadran, who top-scored for his side with 25 runs. Afghanistan struggled to stabilize, losing wickets consistently throughout the innings. Ravi Bishnoi halted a partnership between Noor ul Rahman and Azmatullah Omarzai, while Nitish Kumar Reddy decimated the middle order, finishing with impressive figures of 3-25. Ravi Bishnoi also claimed 3-26 as the innings folded for 94 in just 14.1 overs.
This 127-run victory represents the largest margin of defeat for Afghanistan in T20I cricket. For India, it marked their tenth win in the format by a margin of at least 100 runs. The final scorecard saw India finish on 221/7, with Azmatullah Omarzai claiming 2-27 and Abdullah Ahmadzai taking 1-38 for Afghanistan. The report also notes that but Abhishek was the real headline-grabber. The report also notes that most notably becoming the fastest men’s T20I centurion by balls from a Full Member team, number-crunchers were put to test as Abhishek waltzed from one record to another. The report also notes that the signs came early and emphatically. The report also notes that before repeatedly dismissing anything on his pads or offered short on his body, he began with a lofted drive over covers. The report also notes that including a delectable hold-the-pose hit over the bowler’s head, fazalhaq Farooqi was the first real victim: Abhishek looted 23 runs off his second over. The report also notes that desperate to stop the leak, Ibrahim Zadran gave an early try to spin. The report also notes that not bowling again, nabi was left with a 29-run over.
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