T20 Fastest Century: Abhishek Sharma's 30-Ball Blitz Rewrites India's T20I Record Books

India's search for the t20 fastest century has a new answer. On 17 September 2026, opener Abhishek Sharma smashed a 30-ball hundred against Afghanistan in the third T20I in Delhi — the fastest T20I century ever by an Indian, breaking Rohit Sharma's 35-ball record from 2018 and placing him third on the all-time men's list.

What happened in Delhi on 17 September 2026

Afghanistan captain Ibrahim Zadran won the toss and chose to field — a decision India's openers made him regret immediately. Abhishek reached his fifty in just 16 balls and, alongside Sanju Samson, took India to 100 inside six overs. He completed his century off 30 balls before falling to Rashid Khan in the 10th over, finishing with 108 off 34 deliveries, studded with 9 fours and 11 sixes.

According to Sangbad Pratidin's match report, when Abhishek was dismissed India were 142 for no loss in 9.5 overs and looked set for 250. Instead, a middle-order collapse — Tilak Varma (2), Shreyas Iyer (29), Shivam Dube (10) and Ishan Kishan (10) all failed — restricted India to 221/7, a concern for the team despite the record. The BCCI marked the milestone on its official X handle with a video captioned "A MAGNIFICENT MILESTONE!"

Where the 30-ball hundred ranks globally

Abhishek's knock is now the fastest T20I century by an Indian and, notably, the fastest by any batter from a full-member nation — the previous full-member mark was Finn Allen's 33-ball hundred. Overall in men's T20Is, he sits third:

Within India, the previous benchmark was Rohit Sharma's 35-ball century against England. Abhishek himself held the next spot with a 37-ball hundred, also against England — meaning he has now broken his own position on the list as well. A caveat for record-watchers: Wikipedia's List of Twenty20 International records, updated 11 October 2026, does not yet reflect this innings in the excerpted tables, so official ICC database confirmation is worth checking.

More records in reach

The 11 sixes in Delhi also lifted Abhishek to second among Indians for most sixes in a T20I innings — the top spot is already his, with 13 sixes against England last year. He has hit 96 sixes in calendar-year 2026 so far, closing on his own record of 108 from 2025.

Why 't20 fastest century' trended in India

Google Trends India recorded roughly 2,000 searches for the term on 17 September 2026, a 1000% jump coinciding with the match. That figure reflects approximate search interest, not verified traffic — but it captures how quickly the innings became a national talking point.