After a string of single-digit scores in his Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy return as Punjab captain, Abhishek Sharma unleashed carnage on an skilled Bengal bowling assault with a 32-ball century on the Gymkhana Floor in Hyderabad on Sunday morning.
Opening the batting after successful the toss, Abhishek hit high gear from ball one as he waltzed to a 12-ball half-century after whipping the likes of his former SunRisers Hyderabad teammate Mohammed Shami for 23 runs in an over.
What made Abhishek’s half-century a jaw-dropping feat is that the left-hander had amassed 50 of his 51 runs on the time of reaching his half-century in boundaries! Abhishek had whipped up 5 sixes and as many fours to pulverise the Bengal assault by then.
Abhishek and his opening accomplice, Prabhsimran Singh, powered Punjab previous 120 inside 8 overs, with the latter too reaching his half-century.
Abhishek equals Rohit, solely Kohli forward
The southpaw continued his six-hitting feats unabated as he romped to a 32-ball century, smacking 11 sixes and 7 fours earlier than reaching the three-figure mark. The innings jotted his eighth T20 hundred in solely 157 innings, equalling Rohit Sharma. Solely Virat Kohli (9) has struck extra centuries amongst Indian batters within the T20 format.
Final 12 months, Abhishek clubbed the joint-fastest T20 hundred by an Indian in solely 28 balls towards Meghalaya within the earlier SMAT season. Abhishek additionally pummeled 87 sixes final 12 months in all T20s, the best by an Indian man within the format in a calendar 12 months.
Quickest T20 half-centuries
| Participant | Balls | Match | Venue |
| Dipendra Singh Airee | 9 | Nepal v Mongolia | Hangzhou |
| Ashutosh Sharma | 11 | Railways v Arunachal Pradesh | Ranchi |
| Abhishek Sharma | 12 | Punjab v Bengal | Hyderabad |
| Yuvraj Singh | 12 | India v England | Durban |
| CH Gayle | 12 | Melbourne Renegades v Adelaide Strikers | Melbourne |
| Hazratullah Zazai | 12 | Kabul Zwanan v Balkh Legends | Sharjah |
| Sahil Chauhan | 12 | Estonia v Cyprus | Episkopi |