Abhishek Sharma smashes joint-fastest T20 century by an Indian
What's the story
Star batter Abhishek Sharma has smashed the joint-fastest century by an Indian batter in T20 cricket.
He accomplished the milestone during Punjab's Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy game against Meghalaya on Thursday.
Sharma's 28-ball ton, which featured 11 sixes, helped Punjab chase down a target worth 143 runs in only the 10th over.
He equaled the record of Urvil Patel, who recently attained this feat for Gujarat against Tripura.
Record breaker
Sharma's performance breaks personal record in tournament
Sharma hammed a 29-ball 106*, a knock laced with 8 fours and 11 sixes.
Before Thursday's match, Sharma had a dismal outing in the tournament with just 149 runs from six innings. That was his only score above 50 in the period.
However, his ton off mere 28 balls against Meghalaya was a much-needed turnaround.
The record matched that of Gujarat's Urvil Patel earlier in this tournament, who scored 28-ball century against Tripura in Indore.
Record comparison
Sharma's century surpasses Pant's previous record
Before this year's edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the record for the fastest century in India's SMAT belonged to Rishabh Pant. He had scored a 32-ball ton against Himachal Pradesh in 2018.
However, Sharma's recent performance has broken this previous record by four deliveries.
The overall record for the quickest century in T20 cricket belongs to Estonia's Sahil Chauhan, who did so off just 27 deliveries against Cyprus earlier this year.