Abhishek Sharma's 18-Ball Fifty Rewrites T20I Record Books as India Edge West Indies in Indore Thriller

India opener Abhishek Sharma smashed a 30-ball 69 in the third T20I against West Indies at Holkar Stadium in Indore on Sunday, October 11, and in the process became the fastest batter to 2,000 T20I runs by balls faced. India went on to win by 14 runs to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

Abhishek, 26, reached the milestone in just 1,024 balls, beating Suryakumar Yadav's earlier mark of 1,164 balls, which the former India captain set against South Africa in Gqeberha in December 2023. That is a margin of 140 balls. The next best are Australia's Aaron Finch (1,283), Glenn Maxwell (1,304) and India's Hardik Pandya (1,390).

The record is measured in balls faced, not innings or matches. Abhishek reached 2,000 runs in his 65th T20I and became only the sixth Indian to cross the mark, after Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul.

India lost the toss and were asked to bat. The start was cautious, with only singles in the first 2.2 overs and Abhishek on a run-a-ball 5, a surprise for a batter with a career strike rate near 195. Then he accelerated sharply, raising his strike rate from 100 to 233 in four balls, and reached a fifty off 18 balls inside the powerplay. It was his 14th T20I half-century.

According to Cricinfo, he scored 50 of his 69 runs through the off side, a share of 72.5% that is the highest in any of his T20I innings of 50 or more. He fell to Shamar Springer. Ishan Kishan added 37 in a 108-run partnership before Roston Chase dismissed him, and India finished on 223.

West Indies replied with 209 for 7. Shimron Hetmyer top-scored with 43, and Springer smashed 35 off just 11 balls in a late charge. Arshdeep Singh took 3 for 44 and added 11 off 8 balls with the bat to win Player of the Match. Axar Patel took 1 for 33.

Cricinfo noted that it was the first successful defence of a total on West Indies' tour of India, at the sixth attempt, on a low-bounce Indore pitch that made big hitting difficult. In that context, Abhishek's quick runs gave India an above-par total.

The Indore milestone adds to a run of records for Abhishek this year. Reports say he hit the fastest T20I century by an Indian, off 30 balls against Afghanistan last month, and became the fastest batter to hit 100 T20I sixes, a feat reached in July against England. In January, he also became the quickest batter to 5,000 T20 runs, taking 2,898 balls, according to ESPNcricinfo. He reached the world number one spot in T20I batting rankings in 2025.

After the match, he spoke about his approach, saying it is not about hitting sixes but getting that big over, according to Cricinfo.

India lead the series 2-1 with two matches left. The fifth T20I is scheduled for Bengaluru, where ticket prices have already drawn fan criticism. West Indies will need to find a way to chase totals above 200 after falling short in Indore.