The fastest t20 century record list has gained another major entry after Abhishek Sharma smashed a 30-ball hundred for India against Afghanistan in New Delhi on September 17, 2026. His breathtaking innings made him the fastest Indian batter to reach a T20I century and placed him third on the overall men’s T20I list. Only Estonia’s Sahil Chauhan and Turkey’s Muhammad Fahad have reached the milestone faster.
Abhishek produced the record-breaking performance during the third and final T20I between India and Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. He needed just 30 deliveries to reach three figures and finished with 108 from 34 balls.
The innings contained nine fours and 11 sixes. His strike rate reached 317.64 before Rashid Khan dismissed him in the tenth over.
The performance also ended Rohit Sharma’s long-standing Indian record. Rohit had reached his T20I century from 35 balls against Sri Lanka in 2017.
Abhishek Sharma Jumps Into the Record Books
The latest innings dramatically changed the Indian record for the quickest T20I hundred.
Abhishek did not need a long period to settle. He immediately attacked Afghanistan’s bowling attack and turned the opening overs into a boundary-filled assault.
His fifty arrived in only 16 balls.
That gave him an ideal platform to chase the century at an extraordinary pace. Abhishek then added 51 runs from his next 14 deliveries to complete his hundred from 30 balls.
The acceleration was remarkable. His first 50 required 16 balls, while his second 50 came from only 14.
By the time he reached three figures, the Indian opener had already created a new national benchmark.
His final score of 108 came from 34 balls, with nine fours and 11 sixes.
Where the Current Record List Stands
Abhishek’s innings placed him third on the overall men’s T20I century list.
The current leading marks are:
| Player | Team | Balls to 100 | Opponent | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sahil Chauhan | Estonia | 27 | Cyprus | 2024 |
| Muhammad Fahad | Turkey | 29 | Bulgaria | 2025 |
| Abhishek Sharma | India | 30 | Afghanistan | 2026 |
| Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton | Namibia | 33 | Nepal | 2024 |
| Sikandar Raza | Zimbabwe | 33 | Gambia | 2024 |
| Finn Allen | New Zealand | 33 | South Africa | 2026 |
The three fastest performances now belong to Chauhan, Fahad and Abhishek.
The gap between first and third place is only three deliveries.
That narrow margin shows how extraordinary the top end of T20 batting has become.
Sahil Chauhan Still Holds the Global Mark
Sahil Chauhan remains the player at the top of the T20I record list.
The Estonia batter produced his extraordinary innings against Cyprus on June 17, 2024. He reached his hundred from only 27 balls and finished unbeaten on 144 from 41 deliveries.
His innings included 18 sixes and six fours.
The 18 sixes established a men’s T20I record for the most maximums in one innings. Chauhan also scored at a strike rate above 350 during the remarkable chase.
Estonia successfully chased Cyprus’ 191-run total, reaching 194 for four.
The 27-ball century moved Chauhan beyond the previous benchmark and also surpassed Chris Gayle’s famous 30-ball century in the Indian Premier League.
Two years later, Chauhan’s record remains intact.
Abhishek’s 30-ball effort came within three deliveries of the mark, but the Indian opener did not overtake it.
Muhammad Fahad Sits Between Chauhan and Abhishek
Muhammad Fahad occupies second place on the current list.
The Turkey batter reached his century from 29 balls against Bulgaria in July 2025.
Fahad eventually finished with 120 from 34 deliveries.
His innings featured nine fours and 10 sixes, producing another extraordinary example of high-speed T20 scoring.
The 29-ball hundred placed Fahad only two deliveries behind Chauhan.
Abhishek’s new record is now one delivery slower than Fahad’s mark.
That means the top three positions are separated by just three balls:
- 27 balls — Sahil Chauhan
- 29 balls — Muhammad Fahad
- 30 balls — Abhishek Sharma
The list also demonstrates the contribution of associate cricket nations to the highest-speed batting records.
Abhishek Sets the Fastest Mark for India
Before September 17, Rohit Sharma held India’s fastest T20I century record.
Rohit reached 100 from 35 balls against Sri Lanka in Indore in 2017.
That mark survived for almost nine years.
Abhishek lowered it to 30 balls against Afghanistan.
The improvement is significant because he reduced the previous Indian record by five deliveries.
The new mark also places Abhishek ahead of several established T20 international batting records held by players from full-member nations.
His performance against Afghanistan therefore represents a major milestone in India’s T20I history.
A Record-Breaking First Six Overs
Abhishek’s scoring speed was already extraordinary before he reached his century.
He scored 76 runs from 22 balls during the first six overs.
That became the highest individual score recorded during the opening six overs of a men’s T20I innings.
The achievement added another layer to an already remarkable performance.
The Indian opener attacked from the second over and maintained his scoring rate throughout the powerplay.
His innings featured repeated sixes and boundaries against Afghanistan’s pace and spin options.
By the end of the powerplay, he had already built the foundation for one of the fastest international hundreds ever recorded.
The 16-Ball Fifty Set the Tone
The century was not the first record-level moment in Abhishek’s innings.
He reached his fifty from 16 balls.
That rapid start meant he needed only another 14 deliveries to complete his century.
The second half of the innings was even faster than the first.
Abhishek scored 51 runs from those 14 balls, keeping the boundary flow almost constant.
His ability to continue attacking after reaching fifty separated the innings from a conventional T20 half-century.
Many players slow down after reaching a milestone.
Abhishek instead increased his scoring rate.
That approach took him from fifty to 100 in just 14 deliveries.
How the Boundaries Built the Hundred
Abhishek’s century was dominated by boundaries.
He struck nine fours and 11 sixes during his 108-run innings.
Those 20 boundaries accounted for 102 of his 108 runs.
The figures underline the nature of the performance.
Rather than accumulating the majority of his runs through singles and twos, Abhishek consistently found the boundary.
Six-hitting proved particularly important during the acceleration phase.
The 11 maximums also placed the innings among India’s most prolific individual T20I performances for sixes.
His combination of clean striking and minimal time between boundaries allowed him to reach the century in only 30 deliveries.
Rohit Sharma’s Record Finally Falls
Rohit’s 35-ball hundred against Sri Lanka had remained the benchmark for Indian men’s T20I cricket since December 2017.
That innings came at Holkar Stadium in Indore.
Rohit’s record became one of the longest-standing fast-century marks in Indian T20I cricket.
Abhishek needed only 30 deliveries to replace it.
The five-ball improvement is substantial in a format where every delivery matters.
A difference of five balls can represent several additional scoring opportunities, especially when the batter is attempting to maintain a strike rate above 300.
Abhishek’s innings therefore did more than simply move him up a statistical list.
It created a new national standard for rapid T20I centuries.
The Record Is Different From the IPL Benchmark
The phrase surrounding the quickest T20 centuries can refer to different categories.
International records cover T20Is between national teams.
Franchise cricket produces a separate set of records.
Chris Gayle’s famous 30-ball century came for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors India in the IPL in 2013.
At the time, it became one of the most famous rapid centuries in professional T20 cricket.
Sahil Chauhan later moved past that mark with his 27-ball T20I hundred in 2024.
Abhishek’s latest innings now matches Gayle’s 30-ball figure while coming in an international match.
That distinction is important when comparing performances from different competitions.
Why Three Balls Matter at the Top
A T20 century from 30 balls already demands an exceptional scoring rate.
Moving from 30 balls to 29 requires an even greater sequence of productive deliveries.
Breaking the 29-ball barrier requires the batter to maintain the same attacking intent while avoiding enough dot balls and dismissals to keep the innings alive.
Chauhan’s 27-ball record therefore remains a demanding target.
Abhishek came close, but the record stayed with the Estonia batter.
The current leaderboard shows just how difficult it is to produce a century at such speed.
A New Milestone for a Full-Member Nation
Abhishek’s 30-ball hundred also carries another statistical distinction.
He became the fastest batter from an ICC full-member nation to score a men’s T20I century.
The previous leading marks among full-member nations stood at 33 balls.
Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Sikandar Raza and Finn Allen had all reached hundreds from 33 deliveries.
Abhishek reduced that benchmark to 30.
That places his innings in a separate historical category from the overall list, where Chauhan and Fahad remain ahead.
The distinction helps explain why the performance generated such significant attention even though the global 27-ball record remained untouched.
The Final Score Adds to the Achievement
Abhishek did not stop at 100.
He continued attacking and eventually scored 108 from 34 balls.
His final score included nine fours and 11 sixes.
Rashid Khan eventually ended the innings, with Rahmanullah Gurbaz completing the catch.
By then, Abhishek had already delivered the central statistical achievement of the match.
His century had broken India’s national record and moved him into third place worldwide.
The fact that he added eight runs after reaching 100 also pushed his final score beyond the century mark comfortably.
The 2026 Record Race Has Become Tighter
The latest performance has made the upper end of the T20I century list much more competitive.
Chauhan’s 27-ball mark remains first.
Fahad’s 29-ball effort follows.
Abhishek is now only one delivery behind Fahad.
The next position is considerably farther away at 33 balls.
That creates a clear gap between the top three and the next group of record holders.
The development also shows how quickly the record book can change.
Chauhan set his mark in 2024.
Fahad followed in 2025.
Abhishek entered the top three in 2026.
Three consecutive years have therefore produced major changes near the top of the list.
What the Latest Record Means
Abhishek Sharma’s 30-ball hundred has created a new benchmark for India while adding another remarkable entry to the global T20I record book.
Sahil Chauhan remains the overall record holder with 27 balls.
Muhammad Fahad remains second with 29.
Abhishek now sits third with 30.
For Indian cricket, however, the change is even more significant.
The 26-year-old has replaced Rohit Sharma’s 35-ball mark and established a new national record.
His 16-ball fifty, 76-run powerplay and 108-run final score made the innings one of the most explosive individual performances in men’s T20I cricket.
The global record remains three balls away.
For now, that 27-ball mark continues to set the standard at the very top of the record book.
The T20I record book has another historic chapter after Abhishek Sharma’s 30-ball hundred—share your thoughts and stay tuned for the next record-breaking innings.