Abhishek Sharma fastest T20I century came off just 30 balls against Afghanistan in the third and final T20I at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Thursday, September 17, 2026, making it the fastest hundred in men’s T20I history by a batter from a Full Member nation.
A Blitz From Ball One
Abhishek raced to fifty in just 16 balls, tearing into Mohammad Nabi with three sixes in a single over before continuing his assault on Rashid Khan and Fazalhaq Farooqi. He reached his century with a single in the ninth over, finishing with 10 sixes and 9 fours. His celebration saw him remove his helmet and bandana before sitting down to briefly meditate, as India head coach Gautam Gambhir watched on smiling.
Records Broken
The innings broke the previous Full Member benchmark of 33 balls, jointly held by Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza and New Zealand’s Finn Allen, and comfortably beat the 35-ball mark shared by South Africa’s David Miller and India’s own Rohit Sharma. It also became the fastest T20I century ever by an Indian, five balls quicker than Abhishek’s own previous best of 37 balls against England in Mumbai in February 2025.
Where It Ranks All-Time
Overall, Abhishek’s century is now the third-fastest in T20I history across all nations. Only two faster hundreds exist: Sahil Chauhan’s 27-ball century for Estonia against Cyprus in 2024, and Muhammad Fahad’s 29-ball century for Turkey against Bulgaria in 2025, both against Associate-level opposition. Against a Full Member, or Test-playing, nation, Abhishek’s knock now stands alone at the top.
Series Already Sealed
India had already wrapped up the three-match T20I series 2-0 heading into this final game, with Abhishek’s innings adding a record-breaking exclamation point to the series and pushing India well past 250 in the innings.
