Abhishek Sharma hits 12-ball fifty in Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy

Abhishek Sharma on Sunday smashed the joint third-fastest half-century and broke his own record for most sixes by an Indian in a T20 innings, blasting an unbeaten 148 in Punjab’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy clash against Bengal here.

His fifty, which came off just 12 deliveries, is also the joint second fastest by an Indian.

The World No 1 T20 batter hammered 16 sixes and eight fours overall, providing a strong platform for his side as he put on a whopping 205 runs inside 13 overs with opener Prabhsimran Singh.

His 16 sixes in an innings is now the joint third highest along with Afghanistan’s Hazratullah Zazai and New Zealand’s Finn Allen.

Estonia’s Indian-origin Sahil Chauhan holds the record of most sixes in a T20 innings (18), which he hit against Cyprus in June 2024.

Abhishek hit a 12-ball fifty to equal the record of his mentor and former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh during the Elite Group C clash played here at the Gymkhana Ground.

Abhishek came out firing against a Bengal pace attack which included India bowlers Mohammed Shami and Akash Deep, as he faced only one dot ball while hitting five sixes and as many fours to make his half-century off 12 balls.

He targeted Bengal bowlers down the ground as well as on the leg side, with most of his sixes coming in front of the square. The record of fastest half-century for any Indian in men’s T20 belongs to Ashutosh Sharma, who had recorded it in 11 deliveries for Railways against Himachal Pradesh in their Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy match in 2023-24.

Abhishek thus joins Yuvraj, West Indies’ great Chris Gayle, Zazai and Chauhan in scoring half-centuries off 12 deliveries in men’s T20s.

The record of fastest fifty in T20s belongs to Nepal’s Dipendra Singh Airee, who had completed his in a mere nine balls against Mongolia at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023.