Abhishek Sharma smashes 12-ball half-century in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

HYDERABAD: India's rising opener Abhishek Sharma on Sunday etched his name into the history books by smashing a 12-ball half-century in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Abhishek, who played a pivotal role in India's successful campaign at the ACC Men's T20 Asia Cup 2025 in September, continued to make waves with his explosive batting as he registered multiple records while representing Punjab in the domestic tournament.

The left-handed batter came out all guns blazing against Bengal here at the Gymkhana Ground and took just 12 deliveries to bring up his half-century, which was the joint-second-fastest fifty by an Indian batter in men's T20s.

Ashutosh Sharma holds the record of scoring the fastest half-century by an Indian batter in the shortest format, amassing the landmark in just 11 deliveries while representing Railways against Arunachal Pradesh in the 2023 edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

The 25-year-old carried the momentum and soon amassed his eighth T20 half-century in just 32 balls, which was the joint-sixth-fastest overall in men's T20s.

He also holds the record of scoring the joint-second-fastest hundred in all of men's T20s, when he breached triple figures off just 28 deliveries against Meghalaya in 2023.

Abhishek Sharma went on to top-score for Punjab with 148 off just 52 deliveries, smashing 16 sixes and eight fours.

His sensational knock helped Punjab amass a mammoth total of 310/5 in 20 overs, which was the second highest in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, only behind Baroda's 349/5 against Sikkim in Indore in December 2024.