Abhishek Sharma lit up Durham with a stunning 20-ball half-century against England in the first T20I on Wednesday. The left-hander attacked from the outset. He put the hosts under immediate pressure.
The knock is now the fastest T20I fifty by an Indian in England. Abhishek broke KL Rahul's previous record. Rahul had reached his fifty in 27 balls at Manchester in 2018.
India found themselves under pressure after losing early wickets, but Abhishek counterattacked with a flurry of boundaries and towering sixes. He dominated the powerplay, ensuring the visitors maintained a brisk scoring rate and seized the momentum in the opening overs.
The blistering fifty further cemented Abhishek's reputation as one of the most destructive batters in T20 cricket. It also came just days after he added another record to his name by becoming the first batter from a Full Member nation to register five T20I half-centuries in 20 balls or fewer.
Abhishek Sharma added another remarkable milestone to his growing T20I legacy by becoming the fastest batter from a Full Member nation to reach 100 sixes in the format. He got there in just 785 balls, breaking Evin Lewis' previous record of 789 balls. He now tops an elite list featuring Finn Allen, Tim David, Colin Munro and Suryakumar Yadav.
