Centurion Abhishek Sharma equals this unique record of Evin Lewis
Dashing Indian opener Abhishek Sharma hammered his maiden century as India registered a 100-run win over Zimbabwe in the 2nd T20I in Harare. The left-handed batter, playing only his second international, reached three figures after recording a duck in the series opener, that marked his debut. This hundred saw Abhishek join West Indies dasher Evin Lewis in an elite list. Here are further details.
A stunning hand from Abhishek
Abhishek, who bagged a four-ball duck in the 1st T20I, launched a befitting counter-attack in the powerplay. He scored runs for fun after getting settled as he brought up his ton off just 46 balls. Abhishek departed right after completing his century as he scored a 47-ball 100 (7 fours, 8 sixes). His efforts meant India posted 234/2 and later won by 100 runs.
Abhishek joins Lewis
Abhishek became the second batter after Lewis to score a ton in his second T20I after registering a duck on debut. The latter bagged a seven-ball duck in his maiden T20I appearance, against Afghanistan in 2016. However, his second outing saw his score a 49-ball 100 against India. Notably, no full-member team batter has taken fewer innings to register his maiden T20I hundred.
Abhishek also registered these records
Abhishek became India's 10th centurion in T20Is. The left-hander reached his century off 46 balls, the joint third-fastest by an Indian in T20I cricket (with KL Rahul). Abhishek also became the fourth-youngest Indian to hit a T20I ton (23 years and 307 days). Two innings taken by him are the least for an Indian batter to score a T20I ton.
Abhishek joined Dhoni on this unwanted list
Notably, Abhishek became the fourth Indian to bag a duck on his T20I debut. MS Dhoni was the first one to do so. He bagged a two-ball duck in the 2006 Johannesburg game against SA. Rahul registered a golden duck in the 2016 Harare T20I against Zimbabwe. Prithvi Shaw was also out for a golden duck in the 2021 Colombo match against Sri Lanka.
