In a clash that might have otherwise faded into a routine fixture, stylish Indian opener Abhishek Sharma injected life and spectacle with a performance for the ages at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.
Abhishek Sharma delivered on what he said during the pep talk at the pre-match huddle: Fight like a warrior.
The sensational Indian opener brought life back to the dead-rubber T20 international clash against Afghanistan on Thursday at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi after smashing a hundred in just 30 deliveries.
The 26-year-old was ruthless in the final T20 match, making the Afghanistan bowling attack look obsolete and clueless about how to tame him.
Abhishek not only won the Player of the Match award for his sensational batting, but he also set new world records.
Abhishek: Play like a Soorma
At the pre-match huddle, Abhishek delivered the pep talk to the entire team in Punjabi, echoing the fighting spirit and calling on the team to finish the final match of the series in thrilling fashion.
“Warriors never show mercy to anyone. We aren’t letting them off the hook today. It’s the last match of the series; look at the crowd, we’re going to give them full entertainment,” the Indian opener said.
Abhishek’s 30-ball hundred is the fastest by an Indian in T20 internationals and is also the fastest in the world by a batter from a full-member nation (Test-playing nation). He broke former India captain Rohit Sharma’s record of a 35-ball hundred, which he made against Sri Lanka at Indore in 2017.
More from FirstcricketHe is also the third-fastest centurion in T20 international cricket, overall.
The Indian opener also broke the world record for the highest individual score in men’s T20I powerplay, surpassing Portugal’s Kuldeep Gloliya (74*) and Australia’s Travis Head (73*) after smashing 76 runs in the first six overs.
Abhishek’s ton sets the tone
Abhishek maintained an outrageous strike rate of 317.65 during his stay in the middle, smashing nine fours and 11 sixes in the process. His performance set the innings on fire as he helped the team score 221/7 in 20 overs.
Afghanistan had no response to India’s onslaught in the first innings, with Nitish Kumar Reddy picking up a 3/25 spell and Ravi Bishnoi’s 3/26 crippled the Afghan batters. Axar Patel struck twice, while Jasprit Bumrah and Yash Thakur chipped in with a wicket apiece to bundle out Afghanistan for just 94 runs.
India’s focus will now shift to the Asian Games, and the historic one-off T20I match against Japan on September 22, 2026, at the Sano International Cricket Ground, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan.