Abhishek Sharma overtook Virat Kohli to become the Indian batter with the most T20 centuries on Tuesday. The explosive left-hander achieved this milestone during the third T20I against New Zealand in Wellington, scoring 113 off 38 balls, with nine fours and 11 sixes at a strike rate of 297.37. Now, Abhishek, with 11 T20 centuries, has overtaken Virat’s tally of 10 T20 centuries, becoming the Indian with the most T20 hundreds. Only West Indies great Chris Gayle (22) and Pakistan batter Babar Azam (13) are ahead of him, making him the third-highest centurion in T20 cricket.
Abhishek now has four T20I centuries, the joint second-highest in T20I history, levelling with stars like Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and England’s Phil Salt. Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell (5) holds the record for the most T20I centuries.
In 70 T20Is and 69 innings, Abhishek has scored 2,240 runs at an average of 33.43 and a strike rate of 196.83, with four centuries and 14 fifties. His best score is 135.
This year, in 37 T20Is, Abhishek has scored 1,125 runs at an average of 31.25 and a strike rate of 206.42, including two centuries and eight fifties, with a best score of 113. He is 40 runs away from breaking Suryakumar’s record for the most T20I runs in a calendar year by an Indian (1,164 runs in 2022).
This is the seventh time Abhishek has hit 10 or more sixes in a T20I innings; only Chris Gayle (18 times) has done so more often. Among T20I batters, he has surpassed Gayle in this aspect, having achieved the feat three times compared to Gayle’s two. Austria’s Karanbir Singh has hit 10 or more sixes in a T20I innings five times.
With this assault, Abhishek is only the third Indian to reach 150 T20I sixes, currently sitting on 158 sixes, behind Suryakumar (179) and Rohit (205).
Coming to the match, India won the toss and opted to bowl first. After Tim Seifert (2) was removed early, an 86-run stand for the second wicket between Finn Allen (40 off 25 balls, with five fours) and Daryl Mitchell brought New Zealand back into the game. Glenn Phillips (17 off 14 balls) was underwhelming after two successive fifties. Mitchell (89* off 52 balls, with five fours and five sixes) stayed till the end alongside Bevon Jacobs (39* off 23 balls, with four boundaries and a six), taking the Kiwis to 198/3 in 20 overs.
Arshdeep Singh, Axar Patel and Nitish Kumar Reddy took a wicket each.
During the chase, Abhishek and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (45 off 19 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes) produced a breathtaking, ultra-aggressive display of hitting, taking India to 133 in just 7.1 overs. Despite a brief stumble, Naman Dhir’s unbeaten 4 helped India reach the target with eight wickets and 40 balls to spare. India sealed the series 3-0.
