Abhishek Sharma’s 148 off 52 balls in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy powered Punjab to a 112-run win and saw him break seven T20 records, cementing his status as one of the most explosive and consistent T20 batters in Indian cricket in recent years.
Team India and Punjab opener Abhishek Sharma unleashed his carnage in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match against Bengal at the Gymkhana Ground in Hyderabad on Sunday, November 30.
Abhishek Sharma played a blistering knock of 148 off 52 balls, which helped Punjab post a solid total of 310/5 in 20 overs. Punjab bowlers successfully defended the total by restricting Bengal to 198/9, securing a 112-run victory. Abhishek made the headlines throughout the match with his phenomenal knock, which shattered multiple records.
On that note, let’s take a look at the list of records shattered by Abhishek Sharma in his explosive innings against Bengal.
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1. Joint-second fastest Fifty by an Indian in T20
Abhishek Sharma made it to the history books of records when he smashed a half-century in just 12 balls, making him the joint second-fastest Indian player to score fifty in the history of T20 cricket. Ashutosh Sharma of Railways tops the list with an 11-ball fifty, which he achieved in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match against Arunachal Pradesh in 2023. The left-handed opener bettered his own previous best, a 14-ball fifty, which he achieved in a 2024 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match against Meghalaya.
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2. Joint-Third Fastest Fifty by an Indian in T20
Abhishek Sharma further went on to shatter another record T20 record, by becoming the third-fastest Indian player to score a century in the history of T20 cricket. A few days ago, Urvil Patel of Gujarat smashed a 31-ball century, making him the second-fastest Indian player to complete the three-figure mark in T20. Interestingly, Abhishek Sharma and Urvil Patel hold the Indian record for the second-fastest century (28 balls) in the history of T20 cricket.
Abhishek Sharma recorded his eighth century in his T20 career, equalling Rohit Sharma’s record for the second-most centuries in the format across all levels. Rohit has recorded 8 centuries in 450 T20 innings, while Abhishek has astonishingly matched that tally in just 157 innings. The southpaw is just two centuries away from breaking Virat Kohli’s Indian record of 9 centuries in the history of T20 cricket.
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4. Second-Highest Individual Score by an Indian In T20
Abhishek Sharma’s knock of 148 off 52 balls is the second-highest individual score by an Indian player in the history of T20 cricket. He fell just 4 runs short of shattering Tilak Varma’s record of 151, which remains the highest individual score ever registered by an Indian batter in T20 cricket. With yet another record, Abhishek has cemented his rise as one of India’s most destructive modern-day T20 batters
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5. Record-Breaking Opening Partnership in SMAT History
Apart from individual recording achievements in his outing against Bengal, Abhishek Sharma played a pivotal role in a massive opening partnership. The southpaw formed a 205-run opening stand with Prabhsimran Singh, which is the highest opening partnership in the history of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. This was the first 200 or above opening stand in the SMAT history.
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6. Second-Most Sixes in a SMAT innings
Abhishek Sharma smashed 16 sixes in his 148-run knock against Bengal, which is the second-most by a batter in the history of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Abhishek was just two maximums away from shattering Meghalaya’s Punit Bhist record of 17 sixes, narrowly missing out on adding yet another historic milestone to his extraordinary innings.
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7. Most Sixes by an Indian in a T20 Calendar Year
Abhishek Sharma recorded the most number of sixes by an Indian batter in a single T20 calendar year. The southpaw smashed 91 sixes this year, making him the first Indian batter to cross 90 T20 maximums in a calendar year. The 25-year-old bettered his own record of 87 T20 sixes in a calendar year, which he achieved in the previous year. Abhishek has now set a new benchmark for power-hitting consistency, reaffirming his status as the most prolific six-hitter India has produced in the modern T20 era.
