The flag bearer of modern age batting and the young sensation of India, Abhishek Sharma, registered his name in the record books as he smashed a 12-ball fifty against Bengal and powered his state, Punjab, to 310/5 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in Hyderabad on Sunday. His 12-ball fifty was the joint third fastest fifty in the history of T20 cricket.
The other 12-ball fifty was made by Yuvraj Singh, the mentor of Abhishek Sharma, against England in 2007, in which he smashed six sixes to Stuart Broad.
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The opening pair of Abhishek Sharma and Prabhsimran Singh was hitting Bengal overs in an average of 15 runs per over. Veteran pace bowler Mohammad Shami and new pace bowler Akash Deep had been hammered by both batters heavily.
Abhishek reached his fifty with five fours and five sixes in the whole 12 balls he played, just one dot. Abhishek brought up his century in 32 balls and finished his innings with a stunning 148 off 52 deliveries, decorated with eight fours and 16 sixes.
The Punjab Kings opener Prabhsimran also smashed 70 runs in just 35 balls, which helped the team reach the second-highest total in Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy history, 310 runs. Before Punjab, Baroda also reached the 300 runs milestone in 2024. Baroda had made 349/5 against Sikkim in Indore in December 2024.
In reply to Punjab’s mammoth score, Bengal was completely outplayed and only able to make 198 runs with losing 9 wickets in 20 overs. Bengal captain and star Ranji batter Abhimanyu Easwaran only stood tall and smashed heavily, scoring 130 runs in 66 balls with the help of 13 fours and 8 sixes. With this win, Punjab is now standing at the top of Elite group C, where Bengal is positioned at number 4 currently.
