Abhishek Sharma lit up the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in Hyderabad with one of the most explosive knocks in the tournament’s history, smashing a 32-ball hundred that included 11 towering sixes. The Punjab captain, who had been struggling with single-digit scores earlier in the competition, finally found his rhythm and demolished an experienced Bengal attack on Sunday morning at the Gymkhana Ground. Opening the innings after Punjab opted to bat, Abhishek began in breathtaking fashion and stormed to a half-century in just 12 balls. He tore into his former SunRisers Hyderabad teammate Mohammed Shami, taking 23 runs off a single over. His fifty was extraordinary not just for its speed but for the manner in which he got there 50 of his first 51 runs came in boundaries, with the left-hander hammering five sixes and five fours by the time he reached the milestone.

Abhishek and fellow opener Prabhsimran Singh gave Punjab a blistering start, racing past 120 runs inside eight overs. Prabhsimran also notched up a fifty as Punjab’s top order dismantled the Bengal attack.

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The carnage continued as Abhishek pressed on without let-up, registering a century in only 32 balls. His final tally before reaching triple figures read 11 sixes and seven fours, marking his eighth T20 hundred in 157 innings. This puts him level with Rohit Sharma in the list of Indian players with the most T20 centuries. Only Virat Kohli, with nine, stands ahead of them.

This innings also adds to Abhishek’s growing reputation as one of India’s most dangerous short-format hitters. Last year, he produced a 28-ball hundred the joint-fastest by an Indian in T20 cricket against Meghalaya in the previous SMAT season. He also smashed 87 sixes across all T20s in the calendar year, the most by any Indian male cricketer.

This stands as the third-fastest T20 hundred by an Indian. The all-time record  a blistering 28-ball century is jointly held by Urvil Patel and Abhishek, both of whom achieved the feat in 2024.

Fastest T20 half-centuries

Player – Balls – Match – Venue

Dipendra Singh Airee – 9 – Nepal vs Mongolia – Hangzhou

Ashutosh Sharma – 11 – Railways vs Arunachal Pradesh – Ranchi

Abhishek Sharma – 12 – Punjab vs Bengal – Hyderabad

Yuvraj Singh – 12 – India vs England – Durban

Chris Gayle – 12 – Melbourne Renegades vs Adelaide Strikers – Melbourne

Hazratullah Zazai – 12 – Kabul Zwanan vs Balkh Legends – Sharjah

Sahil Chauhan – 12 – Estonia vs Cyprus – Episkopi