Abhishek Sharma's Historic 30-Ball Century Sparks India to 221

On a warm night in Delhi, Abhishek Sharma turned a routine bilateral T20 into a personal demolition job.

Thirty balls. That is all he needed for a hundred – the fastest T20 international century ever scored in a match between two full-member nations – as India surged to 221-7 against Afghanistan in the third T20.

The left-hander walked out as an opener and batted as if the powerplay never ended. By the time he finally fell for 108 from 34 deliveries, Afghanistan’s bowlers had been reduced to spectators in their own spell charts.

Nine fours. Eleven sixes. Almost absurd numbers, but the innings felt even more brutal than the scorecard suggests. Abhishek reached his century in the ninth over, with India already racing at 132-0. At that point, he had scored 96 of his 100 runs in boundaries. The bat barely left fifth gear.

The crowd sensed something special early. Anything even slightly full disappeared straight back over the bowler’s head; anything short vanished over midwicket or carved over point. Field changes meant nothing. The ball kept clearing them.

The only pauses in the carnage were almost comical in their rarity: a single in the previous over, a two as early as the third, and then the nudge that took him to three figures. Three scoring shots that didn’t reach the rope in a hundred. Everything else crashed into advertising boards or into the stands.

At the other end, Sanju Samson played the steadying role in what still read like a brisk knock: 50 from 35 balls. While Abhishek tore into the bowling, Samson kept the board ticking, rotating strike and cashing in when Afghanistan’s attack chased the ball rather than the plan.

Azmatullah Omarzai emerged with the most respectable figures in the chaos, 2-27, a small victory on a night when almost every over felt like a lottery for the fielding side. He found a hint of control where others found only Abhishek’s arc.

India’s final total of 221-7, built on that extraordinary opening surge, left Afghanistan with a mountain to climb. They have yet to bat, but the tone of the evening has already been set.

The question now is simple: can any response live with the storm Abhishek Sharma just unleashed?