Abhishek Sharma says meditation inspired celebration after 30-ball T20I century

Abhishek Sharma has said his on-field meditation pose after a record-breaking hundred against Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Thursday was intended to promote meditation, not to copy Erling Haaland.

Sharma produced the 30-ball century in the third T20I, a knock that made him the fastest Indian to reach a T20I hundred by overtaking Rohit Sharma, who had reached three figures in 35 balls against Sri Lanka in 2017. The innings was also the fastest T20I hundred by a batter from a full member nation.

He reached his century with 10 sixes and nine fours, and his scoring put India at 132 without loss in 8.3 overs; it was his third T20I century and another prominent performance in the series. After completing the milestone he dropped to the ground and adopted a meditation pose that drew comparisons with Manchester City forward Erling Haaland.

Speaking to broadcasters after the match, Sharma said meditation and manifestation had been part of his routine for months. "This is something I have been doing for quite some time, six months to a year. I have focused a lot on meditation and manifestation because when you are playing cricket throughout the year, there are a lot of ups and downs as a cricketer."

He expanded on why he chose that celebration, saying he hoped others might try the practice. "So how do you keep your mind stable in that? I think meditation really helped me a lot, and I just wanted that if someone sees it, if any cricketer feels that it actually really helped me from the last six to eight months." "So that was the specific celebration for that, that this is something which is keeping me stable," said Abhishek.

Sharma's innings helped India win the third T20I by 127 runs and complete a 3-0 whitewash.