Abhishek Sharma's Historic 30-Ball Century in T20 Match

On a warm night in Delhi, Abhishek Sharma didn’t just open the batting for India. He tore the format apart.

In the third T20 against Afghanistan, the left-hander blasted a 30-ball century, the fastest hundred ever in a T20 international between two full-member nations. By the time he finally walked off for 108 from 34 deliveries, India were charging towards a towering 221-7, and Afghanistan had yet to face a ball.

The assault began early and never really paused. Abhishek went after anything with width, anything remotely in his arc, carving and clubbing his way to three figures in the ninth over. At that moment, the scoreboard read 132-0. Afghanistan’s bowlers looked stunned; the crowd, almost disbelieving.

The numbers behind it were almost absurd. Of his first 100 runs, 96 came in boundaries. Only three scoring shots under four: a single in the previous over, a two as early as the third, and the nudge that took him to the milestone. Everything else was pure violence — nine fours and 11 sixes raining around the ground.

There was a touch of personal edge to it as well. Knocked off the top of the T20 batting rankings in July, the 26-year-old walked out in Delhi with something to say. This was his answer, delivered with a clean swing and a cold eye.

At the other end, Sanju Samson played the supporting role, a steady 50 from 35 balls that would usually command the headlines. On this night, it simply framed the carnage at the top.

Azmatullah Omarzai emerged with some credit amid the wreckage, his 2-27 a rare patch of control in an innings otherwise dominated by one man’s hitting.

Afghanistan now face a chase that is as much psychological as numerical. After an innings like Abhishek’s, how do you even begin?