Abhishek Sharma continued to underline his reputation as one of the most explosive batters in T20I cricket with another impressive performance against the West Indies. The Indian opener delivered a blistering knock in the third T20I at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Sunday, combining aggressive strokeplay with a significant personal milestone. His innings helped India recover from an early setback and put the hosts in a strong position, although his dismissal briefly shifted the momentum towards the visitors.

Abhishek Sharma goes past Suryakumar Yadav to create world record

Abhishek achieved a remarkable milestone during his innings, becoming the fastest batter to score 2,000 runs in men’s T20I cricket in terms of balls faced. The left-hander reached the landmark in just 1,024 deliveries, setting a new benchmark in the format and surpassing a record previously held by former India’s T20I captain, Suryakumar Yadav.

Suryakumar had taken 1,164 balls to accumulate his first 2,000 T20I runs, while ex-Australia captain Aaron Finch occupied third place on the list after reaching the mark in 1,283 deliveries. Abhishek’s achievement underlines the remarkable scoring rate he has maintained throughout his T20I career.

The young opener’s latest feat also reflects his attacking approach, with his ability to find boundaries consistently allowing him to accumulate runs at an extraordinary pace. Rather than taking time to settle, Abhishek has regularly looked to put bowlers under pressure from the beginning of his innings.

Against the West Indies, he once again demonstrated that approach, producing a rapid 69 off just 30 deliveries. His knock included six fours and five sixes, giving the Indian innings the impetus it needed after an early wicket. Abhishek’s stay at the crease eventually ended when Shamar Springer dismissed him with a caught-and-bowled effort. Attempting to pull a short delivery, the Indian batter mistimed his stroke, sending a top edge back towards the bowler, who completed the catch.

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Abhishek’s heroics power India to formidable total

India needed an aggressive response after Sanju Samson departed for just three runs, and Abhishek provided exactly that. He joined Ishan Kishan in launching a counterattack, with the pair finding boundaries regularly and forcing the West Indies bowlers to work hard for breakthroughs.

Abhishek’s dismissal, however, triggered a brief collapse for the hosts. The West Indies struck three times in the space of just 10 deliveries, conceding only nine runs during that period and managing to regain some control over the contest. Despite losing wickets in quick succession, India maintained a healthy scoring rate and finished their innings at 230/6 in 20 overs. Abhishek’s explosive contribution formed the foundation of the total, while several other batters chipped in with valuable runs.

Tilak Varma added 28, while Nitish Reddy contributed 21. Axar Patel scored 20, and Prince Yadav provided a useful late contribution of 13 runs from the lower order. Their efforts ensured that India reached 223 runs despite the middle-order setbacks. For the West Indies, Roston Chase was among the wicket-takers, finishing with figures of two wickets for 38 runs. In response, the visitors fought nicely but ended up reaching 209, falling 14 runs.

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