Abhishek Sharma's 30-ball hundred is the fastest by a Test nation batter

Abhishek Sharma reached a T20 international hundred in 30 balls against Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on 17 September 2026, the fastest by a batter from a Test-playing nation.

He finished on 108 off 34 balls with 9 fours and 11 sixes, and India completed a 3-0 sweep of the three-match series.

The record he broke

The previous mark among full members was Sikandar Raza's 33-ball hundred for Zimbabwe against Gambia in 2024.

Two faster T20I centuries exist overall, both from associate cricket: Estonia's Sahil Chauhan off 27 balls and Turkey's Muhammad Fahad off 29. Against a full-member attack, 30 balls is now the benchmark.

Where Pakistan's record sits

Hasan Nawaz's 44-ball hundred at Eden Park in March 2025 remains the fastest by a Pakistan batter, and it took Babar Azam's 49-ball record from 2021. Abhishek's innings is 14 balls quicker than anything a Pakistani has managed in the format.

That gap is the honest measure of where the two top orders are. Pakistan's fastest two T20I hundreds came from a No. 3 and an opener building through the powerplay. Abhishek's came from attacking from the first ball with the field up.

What it sets up

India and Pakistan are on opposite sides of the draw at the Asian Games in Japan, so a meeting would only come in the final. Our Asian Games cricket schedule in Pakistan time has the fixtures and start times, and the Asia Cup page tracks Pakistan's record in the region's other tournament.

Pakistan's own T20 assignments resume after the current run of Test cricket. On this evidence, the selection question is not who opens but whether anyone in the squad is picked to bat the way Abhishek just did.