India opener Abhishek Sharma put his name in the record books in the first T20I against England, becoming the fastest batsman to hit 100 sixes in T20 Internationals among full member nations. After India opted to bat first at Chester-le-Street, the visitors were rocked by the early dismissals of Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan. With India under pressure, Abhishek launched a stunning attack, beating England’s batsmen from the start to keep them from moving and scored a brilliant half-century in just 20 balls. Abhishek Sharma reached the milestone of 100 sixes after smashing two sixes in the third and fourth overs, completing 100 T20I sixes in just 785 matches, surpassing West Indies opener Evin Lewis, who had previously reached 789 balls.Fewest Balls to 100 T20I Sixes (All Member Nations)
- 785 – Abhishek Sharma*
- 789 – Evin Lewis
- 871 – Finn Allen
- 931 – Group David
- 963 – Colin Munro
The event also saw Abhishek become only the fifth Indian batsman to break six in T20 Internationals, joining an elite list that includes Rohit Sharma (205), Suryakumar Yadav (179), Hardik Pandya (126) and Virat Kohli (124).
England finally ended Abhishek Sharma’s knock when Sam Curran trapped the left-hander LBW for 59 off 24 balls. Initially looking like they were going slow, England reviewed the fielding decision, and tracking the ball confirmed that the delivery landed on leg stump.
England: Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Harry Brook (c), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Saqib Mahmood, Adil Rashid, Luke Wood.India: Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy.
