New Delhi: Left-handed opener Abhishek Sharma lit up the Arun Jaitley Stadium by hitting the fastest T20I century by a player from a Test-playing nation and the quickest ton by an Indian men’s batter, off just 30 balls, as he propelled India to a massive 221.7 against Afghanistan in the third and final T20I Thursday.
On a pitch with no demons, Abhishek showcased supreme power and timing to hit a brilliant 108 off 34 balls, laced with nine fours and eleven sixes at a strike-rate of 317.65. His carnage meant India were 100/0 at the end of the power play, and despite a late stumble as Afghanistan mounted a spirited fightback to pick up four wickets in the last five overs, the designated visitors managed to cross the 220-mark.
He found an able partner in Sanju Samson, who made a 35-ball 50, his second fifty in a row in this series, as the duo shared a 142-run opening stand. For Afghanistan, Azmatullah Omarzai picked up 2-27, while Rashid Khan, who was electrifying in effecting a run-out and taking two astounding catches, and Abdullah Omarzai took a scalp each.
Electing to bowl first, Afghanistan had a slip in for Abhishek when he came on strike in the first over. But once he drove Fazalhaq Farooqi through cover for four, the slip was moved out. After that, whatever Afghanistan tried, it didn’t work, as Abhishek’s brilliance just threw them off their game.
Omarzai bowled short at the stumps in the second over, and Abhishek pulled it 86 metres behind square. Abhishek then hit Omarzai over his head for four with mid-off and mid-on up, and then danced down the pitch to loft over cover for six, as 17 runs came off it. Farooqi’s next over went for 23 runs, as Abhishek hammered him for two sixes and as many fours.
Mohammad Nabi’s only over cost 29 runs. Samson first hit him for consecutive sixes, before being dropped on 22 by captain Ibrahim Zadran at mid-off. But Abhishek reached his fifty off just 16 balls with a six down the ground, before hitting a four through the gap between cover and point, and finished the fifth over with a six over the straight boundary. Abhishek treated Rashid Khan with disdain – hitting him for four over extra cover, and followed by an inside-out boundary and six over wide mid-off to bring up India’s century in the power play.
After that, it was all going in Abhishek’s way – as Ahmadzai and Mujeeb were clobbered for boundaries. The hundred came in the ninth over when Abhishek drove Ahmadzai for a single. He did not seem to realise straight away that he had broken a slew of records, and he took off his helmet and bandana and sat down in a meditation pose to celebrate the feat, with his father, Rajkumar Sharma, clapping and smiling with sheer joy.
But Rashid got him in the tenth over with a googly bowled from behind the stumps, as the entire ground stood up to give Abhishek a standing ovation. Rashid then caused the run-out of Tilak Varma with a direct hit, and caught Samson at long-off, leaping with his hands above his head, off Omarzai. Two overs later, he ran to his left at long-on and took a diving catch over his head to dismiss Shivam Dube. Ishan Kishan was run out by Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who threw his right glove away before hitting the stumps.
Ahmadzai, playing his first game of the series, kept going at the yorker and had Nitish Kumar Reddy caught at deep midwicket. By the time skipper Shreyas Iyer was run out for 29, India had already crossed the 220-mark, but the night was made bright by Abhishek’s unforgettable blitzkrieg.
Brief Scores: India 221/7 in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 108, Sanju Samson 50; Azmatullah Omarzai 2-27, Abdullah Ahmadzai 1-38) against Afghanistan
