Abhishek Sharma’s 30-ball hundred gives India a 3-0 T20 sweep

Abhishek Sharma reached a hundred in 30 balls at Arun Jaitley Stadium on Thursday and finished on 108 off 34, with nine fours and 11 sixes. India made 221 for 7. Afghanistan, the official hosts of the series, were dismissed for 94 in 14.1 overs. The margin was 127 runs. The series ended 3-0.

Afghanistan chose to bowl. Abhishek had 50 off 16 balls and brought up the hundred in the ninth over, when India were 132 without loss. Ninety-six of his first 100 runs came in boundaries. The exceptions were a two in the third over, a single in the eighth, and the single that took him from 99 to 100 after a six off Abdullah Ahmadzai. He sat in a meditation pose for the celebration. Rashid Khan bowled him later. Sanju Samson made 50 off 35. India slipped from 142 for 1 in the tenth over to 221 for 7.

Where the record sits

The 30-ball hundred is the fastest by an Indian in men’s T20 internationals, inside Rohit Sharma’s 35-ball century from 2017. It is also the fastest T20I hundred in a match between two full-member nations, inside Finn Allen’s 33-ball hundred against South Africa at this year’s T20 World Cup. Sikandar Raza had reached three figures in 33 balls for Zimbabwe against Gambia in 2024. Abhishek’s innings was his third T20I hundred and the tenth T20 hundred of his career. He is 26. He lost the top spot in the T20 batting rankings in July.

Azmatullah Omarzai took 2 for 27. Nitish Kumar Reddy took 3 for 25, with two wickets in one over. Ravi Bishnoi finished with 3 for 26. Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s side never built a chase. Ibrahim Zadran’s 25 off 16 was the top score.

Both squads now turn to the Asian Games. India had already named Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the ODI party for the West Indies series. Thursday’s match was a dead rubber only on the series score. The innings will sit on the full-member record list until someone reaches three figures in 29 balls or fewer against another Test nation.

The useful comparison is not with the wildest T20 innings against associate attacks. It is with Allen in a World Cup semi-final and with Rohit in 2017. Abhishek needed 30 balls in a bilateral game in Delhi, on a night Afghanistan picked to bowl, and he did it before the tenth over. That is the line the scorebook now holds.