Abhishek Sharma scores 30-ball T20I century to eclipse Rohit Sharma's Indian record

Abhishek Sharma scored a 30-ball century for India against Afghanistan in the series finale at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Thursday, becoming the fastest Indian to reach a T20I hundred.

He brought up his third hundred in the format in just 30 balls, surpassing the previous Indian benchmark set by Rohit Sharma, who reached his T20I hundred in 35 deliveries against Sri Lanka in 2017. Earlier in his career, Abhishek had posted a 37-ball century against England at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in 2025, and he is now the first batter in T20 internationals to record two centuries in under 40 deliveries.

By the time he reached three figures, Abhishek had struck 10 sixes and nine boundaries, with India on 132 for 0 after 8.3 overs. The scoring surge had propelled the team to a dominant platform inside the powerplay.

Abhishek was looking set for a daddy hundred, with plenty of time to double his score, but he was dismissed by Rashid Khan for 108 (34 balls) in the 10th over. His dismissal ended a blistering innings that combined rapid boundary hitting with sustained pressure on the bowling.

Ibrahim Zadran won the toss and opted to field, a decision the report described as one the Afghanistan bowlers failed to back up. Varun Chakravarthy had said after the first T20I in Delhi: “Against our batting line-up, you can’t bowl spin.” Afghanistan could neither bowl spin nor pace as the Indian batters feasted on their bowling throughout the ‘Friendship Cup’, which was anything but friendly on the field.

Abhishek’s 30-ball hundred in the series finale of the Friendship Cup at the Arun Jaitley Stadium completed a notable personal landmark and underlined the scoring dominance India displayed in that match.