Abhishek Sharma, the left-handed explosive opening batter of the Indian cricket team, activated his explosive batting against Bengal during the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2025/26 season at the Gymkhana Ground in Hyderabad. The opposition side was led by the veteran Indian pacer, Mohammad Shami, but that hardly mattered to Abhishek.

The southpaw batter smashed his half-century in just 12 deliveries, which equaled the record of his mentor, Yuvraj Singh, when he got to that landmark against England at Kingsmead in Durban during the 2007 T20 World Cup. Later, he went on to register the joint fastest T20 century by an Indian by 32 deliveries.

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Abhishek Sharma ended with 148 runs in just 52 deliveries at a strike rate of 284.62 with the help of eight boundaries and 16 sixes. This becomes the second top score in T20 cricket among the Indian batters. Sharma went past Shreyas Iyer’s 147 against Sikkim, while Tilak Verma stays at the top with his fabulous knock of 151 against Meghalaya.

Watch: Abhishek Sharma equals Yuvraj Singh to register stunning record in SMAT 2025/26 against Bengal

The left-handed batter has now smashed 91 sixes, which is the most by an Indian player in a calendar year. His 16 sixes in that innings are the second most in a T20 innings by an Indian player. He has scored 128 runs, which is the second-most T20 runs scored in boundaries in an innings by an Indian.

52 balls. 148 runs. A masterclass from Captain Abhishek Sharma. The era of Abhishek Sharma starts now!👑 #punvsben pic.twitter.com/wVYKEPjfRX

— SunRisers OrangeArmy Official (@srhfansofficial) November 30, 2025

Abhishek has now smashed eight centuries in the T20 cricket, which is equaled with the former World Cup-winning captain and the opening batter of India’s shortest format, Rohit Sharma. He stays only behind Virat Kohli, who has accumulated nine centuries in his T20 career. Apart from Abhishek, Punjab’s wicket-keeper batter, Prabhsimran Singh, has dashed 70 runs in 35 balls at a strike rate of 200 with the help of eight fours and four sixes.

Punjab ended with 310 runs as they became the second T20 team after Baroda to record a 300-plus score. It’s only the fifth team overall to achieve the feat in all men’s T20 cricket.