Abhishek Sharma turned a 199-run chase into a highlight reel at Hnry Stadium in Wellington on Tuesday, smashing a 35-ball century that stands as the fastest by an Indian against New Zealand in T20Is. His final tally of 113 off 38 balls, studded with nine fours and 11 sixes, not only sealed India’s win in the third T20I but also added several entries to the record books.
The left-hander reached three figures with a boundary off Kyle Jamieson in the ninth over and celebrated with a meditation pose before launching more sixes. This 35-ball effort is the joint second-fastest T20I hundred by an Indian overall, matching Rohit Sharma’s 35-ball ton against Sri Lanka in 2017. Abhishek already owns the outright record with his 30-ball century against Afghanistan earlier this year. Against New Zealand specifically, no Indian had previously scored a hundred so quickly.
Fastest T20I century by an Indian against New Zealand: 35 balls.
Joint second-fastest T20I hundred by an Indian: Tied with Rohit Sharma (35 balls).
15-ball fifty: Joint third-fastest half-century by an Indian in T20Is.
11th century in all T20 cricket: Moved past Virat Kohli for the most hundreds by an Indian in the shortest format across all competitions. He now has 11, placing him third overall in men’s T20 cricket behind Chris Gayle (22) and Babar Azam (13).
(More to follow)
