Abhishek bludgeons his way to record books in SMAT as he blasts a 12-ball half-century for Punjab against Bengal.
Playing for Punjab versus Bengal in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match in Hyderabad on Sunday, Abhishek Sharma hit a half-century off 12 balls. In men’s T20 cricket, it is the second-fastest and third-fastest fifty by an Indian.
Abhishek, who opened the batting with Prabhsimran Singh, destroyed a bowling assault led by Mohammed Shami and Akash Deep, scoring more than 15 runs per over against Saksham Choudhary, Writtick Chatterjee, and both. In the twelve balls he faced to reach the milestone, Abhishek gave up just one dot ball while hitting five fours and five sixes to reach his fifty.
Abhishek reached the mark in 32 balls before concluding on 148 in 52, with eight fours and sixteen sixes, but he never threatened to surpass Chauhan’s record for the fastest century in men’s T20 cricket, which is in 27 balls. However, Abhishek shares the record for the second-fastest T20 century off 28 balls with Urvil Patel, who struck it for Gujarat against Tripura in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy the previous season.
Prabhsimran smashed 70 in 35 balls, but his innings was overshadowed by his partner as Punjab concluded with 310 for 5 in their 20 overs. After Baroda’s 349 for 5 against Sikkim in Indore in December 2024, Punjab’s score was the second-highest in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
As of right now, Abhishek is the fifth batter in the format to score a fifty off 12 balls. The first was Yuvraj Singh, who hit six sixes in an over against Stuart Broad during his batting against England in the 2007 T20 World Cup. In January 2016, Chris Gayle accomplished it for the Melbourne Renegades against the Adelaide Strikers in the BBL. Then, in an Afghanistan Premier League match in Sharjah in October 2018, Hazratullah Zazai of Afghanistan matched it while playing for Kabul Zwanan versus Balkh Legends, which included Gayle.