Abhishek Sharma lit up the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025 with a blistering century, equaling a significant record held by Rohit Sharma and inching closer to Virat Kohli's all-time T20I record. Sharma's explosive innings of 148 runs off just 52 balls against Bengal in Hyderabad included a staggering 16 sixes and 8 fours, propelling Punjab to a massive total of 310/5.
The left-handed batsman's assault shattered multiple T20 records and left the Bengal attack, which featured India bowlers Mohammed Shami, Akash Deep, and Shahbaz Ahmed, in disarray. Sharma's innings was characterized by brutal power and precision, as he consistently cleared the straight boundaries.
Sharma began his onslaught from the very first ball, racing to a half-century in just 12 balls. This remarkable feat tied the record of his mentor, Yuvraj Singh, for the second-fastest fifty by an Indian in T20s. Only Ashutosh Sharma has achieved the milestone faster, in just 11 balls. By the time Sharma reached his half-century, 50 of his first 51 runs had come from boundaries, including five sixes and five fours.
Sharma continued his relentless attack, reaching his century in a mere 32 deliveries. This is the joint third-fastest T20 century by an Indian. With this century, Sharma now has eight T20 hundreds, equaling Rohit Sharma's record. Only Virat Kohli, with nine T20 centuries, is ahead of him among Indian batsmen.
His innings included 16 sixes, pushing his total past 90 sixes for the year and breaking his own Indian record for the most sixes in a calendar year across all T20s. He surpassed his previous record of 87 sixes, which he had set in 2024. Sharma's 16 sixes are also the joint third-highest in a T20 innings, alongside Hazratullah Zazai and Finn Allen.
Despite a string of low scores leading up to this match, Sharma displayed incredible control and punished anything remotely off-line. He was eventually dismissed for 148 off 52 balls in the death overs, after being away from the strike for a period while other Punjab batsmen took the score past 300.
Abhishek Sharma's record-breaking innings has not only solidified his position as a dominant force in domestic cricket but has also signaled his potential to surpass some of the biggest names in Indian T20 history. His eight T20 centuries puts him alongside Rohit Sharma, with only Virat Kohli ahead. With the way Sharma is playing, Kohli's record may soon be in jeopardy.
The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025-26 is the 18th edition of the annual Twenty20 tournament in India, featuring 38 teams from the Ranji Trophy. The tournament is taking place from November 26 to December 18, 2025. Mumbai are the defending champions.
