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Abhishek Sharma ignites Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy with ruthless ton, catches Rohit Sharma; Kohli’s record no longer safe
The knock not only saw Abhishek Sharma break his own mark in the format but also match Rohit Sharma’s tally, leaving only Virat Kohli’s record in his sights.
Abhishek Sharma bounced back from a string of poor outings to unleash mayhem in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on Sunday at the Gymkhana Ground in Hyderabad, carving out a record-breaking century against Bengal. The knock not only saw him break his own mark in the format but also match Rohit Sharma’s tally, leaving only Virat Kohli’s India record in his sights.
Opting to bat first, Punjab got off to an explosive start against an experienced opposition attack as Abhishek combined with Prabhsimran Singh to power the team to 120 runs in just eight overs. En route, he channelled his inner Yuvraj Singh, also his mentor, to clobber a 12-ball half-century, which included smashing his former Sunrisers Hyderabad teammate Mohammed Shami for 23 runs in a single over. What was even more breathtaking was that the half-century came entirely in boundaries — five sixes and five fours.
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Abhishek took 22 more deliveries to reach the next half-century, adding five more sixes and a single boundary. With the triple-figure score, he matched former India captain Rohit Sharma’s T20 record of eight centuries. Abhishek achieved this milestone in his 157th innings in the format and now stands just one behind Virat Kohli, who holds the Indian record for most T20 centuries. On the global stage, West Indies legend Chris Gayle leads the all-time list with 22 tons, followed by Pakistan’s Babar Azam (11) and Kohli.
As Punjab raced past the 300-run mark, Abhishek remained unbeaten on 148 off 52 balls, laced with 16 sixes and eight fours. His tally of maximums in the innings also saw him break his own record for the most sixes in a calendar year in T20 cricket. In 2024, he had smashed 87 sixes — the highest by an Indian in a single year in the format. In 2025, he added four more to extend the record to 91.
