Abhishek Sharma blasts a 30-ball century as India sweep Afghanistan

If you stepped away to make tea, you probably missed a boundary. If you took your time, you may have missed several.

Abhishek Sharma raced to a century from just 30 balls against Afghanistan in Delhi on September 17. India finished with 221 for seven, then dismissed Afghanistan for 94 to win the third T20 international by 127 runs and take the series 3–0.

Thirty balls. One hundred runs.

The BCCI’s record breakdown confirms this was the fastest T20 international hundred by an Indian. Abhishek beat Rohit Sharma’s 35-ball century against Sri Lanka in Indore in 2017.

He also set the fastest hundred by a batter from a full-member cricket nation. It was the third-fastest century in men’s T20 internationals overall, so calling it the outright world record would be wrong. A spectacular innings does not need an extra record added to it.

His final score was 108 from 34 balls, including nine fours and 11 sixes. Those boundaries alone added up to 102 runs. Just six runs came through anything other than hitting the ball to or over the rope.

For anyone new to cricket, a century means 100 individual runs. Reaching it in 30 deliveries is the kind of pace that turns the bowling side’s plans into emergency meetings.

The start did the damage

BBC Sport’s report, carried by Yahoo, described India reaching 100 inside the six-over powerplay. That is the opening period when fielding restrictions give attacking batters more space to exploit.

Sanju Samson contributed 50, and the opening partnership reached 142. Abhishek’s first fifty took 16 balls. The next fifty needed only 14. Somehow, an innings that had already started at full speed found another gear.

Afghanistan did regain some control. India added 79 in the final ten overs, rather than maintaining the extraordinary early scoring rate. That recovery mattered, even if the target still looked huge.

The bowlers finished the job

According to AFP’s match report on NDTV, Axar Patel struck twice in his first over. Nitish Kumar Reddy took three wickets for 25, while Ravi Bishnoi also claimed three. Afghanistan’s innings ended in 14.1 overs.

That made this more than an individual highlight. The opening assault created the advantage, and India’s bowlers made sure there was no dramatic escape.

A series sweep is the team result that goes into the record book. But the image this match leaves behind is simpler: Abhishek standing there, another ball disappearing, and a century arriving before anyone had much time to settle in.