Abhishek Sharma's blitzkrieg was once again on full display, this this in the second T20I against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on October 31. Abhishek, who cracked three consecutive half-centuries in the Asia Cup 2025, followed up with another half century on the Australian soil.
This explosive first T20I half-century in Australia saw Abhishek Sharma achieve several new records. The swashbuckling left-handed batter raced to his fifty off only 23 balls. This rapid strike marks his seventh T20I fifty in 25 or fewer balls, a feat that now places him in an elite list. He is currently joint-most among batters from full member nations, sharing the landmark with India's own Suryakumar Yadav, England's Phil Salt, and the West Indies' Evin Lewis, all of whom also have seven such quick half-centuries.
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Abhishek's superb innings eventually concluded at 68 runs off 37 balls, which was laced with eight fours and two sixes. While his fight was largely a lone one, he did receive some decent support from Harshit Rana, who contributed 35 runs. Unfortunately, the batting lineup struggled around them, as no other player managed to reach a double-digit score, as Australia folded them for a paltry total of 125.
Most times reaching fifty in 25 or fewer balls in T20Is (Full Member teams):
7 – Abhishek Sharma (India)*
7 – Phil Salt (England)
7 – Evin Lewis (West Indies)
7 – Suryakumar Yadav (India)
The 25-year-old's explosive show at the MCG cemented his place in the record books for Indian cricket in Australia. His quickfire 23-ball half-century is now the joint-fastest T20I fifty achieved by an Indian batter on Australian soil. He shares this remarkable record with Suryakumar Yadav, who previously hit a half-century off the same number of deliveries against Zimbabwe during the 2022 T20 World Cup. Beyond the fastest fifty, Abhishek also surpassed Gautam Gambhir's record to achieve the highest score by an Indian opener in T20Is against Australia. By reaching these milestones at the 'G', he has not only scaled new heights but has also reaffirmed his class in the T20 format.
Highest Individual Scores as Openers for India vs Australia in T20Is:
123* – Ruturaj Gaikwad, Guwahati, 2023
92 – Rohit Sharma, Gros Islet, 2024
76 – Shikhar Dhawan, Brisbane, 2018
68 – Abhishek Sharma, Melbourne, 2025
63 – Gautam Gambhir, Brabourne, 2007
India's Playing XI:
Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson(w), Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah
Australia's Playing XI:
Mitchell Marsh(c), Travis Head, Josh Inglis(w), Tim David, Matthew Short, Mitchell Owen, Marcus Stoinis, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Josh Hazlewood