Abhishek Sharma smashes 30-ball ton as India pile up 221-7

Abhishek Sharma smashed a 30-ball century for India against Afghanistan in the third T20 in Delhi.

The opener made 108 from 34 balls as India reached 221-7 from 20 overs. It was the fastest hundred in a T20 international between two full-member nations, according to BBC Sport.

It was brutal. It was also remarkably clean.

Abhishek reached his hundred in the ninth over with India already 132-0. He took just 30 deliveries to get there. Of his first 100 runs, 96 came in boundaries.

The final tally was nine fours and 11 sixes. He fell soon after, caught behind off Rashid Khan.

That dismissal ended a ferocious opening burst. India had raced to 100 inside the powerplay, the fielding-restricted opening overs when only two fielders are allowed outside the inner circle.

Sanju Samson added the next biggest contribution with 50 from 35 balls. Azmatullah Omarzai was Afghanistan's most economical bowler with 2 for 27.

The innings rewrote the record book for full-member T20 internationals. The previous fastest was Finn Allen's 33-ball hundred for New Zealand against South Africa at the T20 World Cup.

For Abhishek, it was a third T20 international hundred and the 10th T20 century of his career. He had previously hit a 28-ball hundred for Punjab against Meghalaya in Indian domestic cricket in 2024.

What makes this stand out is the speed without slogging blindly. Almost the entire hundred arrived in fours and sixes, yet India lost no wicket while he was cutting loose.