Punjab opener Abhishek Sharma smashed a flurry of records with a fiery century against Madhya Pradesh in Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021. Chasing 403 at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore, the southpaw attacked bowlers from the outset and smashed boundaries all over the park. Be it pacers or spinners; the dasher spared none as the ball was flying throughout his innings. He went onto register the second-fastest century by an Indian in List-A cricket, reaching the three-figure off just 42 deliveries. The Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) star left behind Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav with his whirlwind knock. Devdutt Padikkal Scores Third Consecutive Century in Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021 as Karnataka Advances to Quarter-Finals.

The Indian captain scored a 52-ball hundred against Australia back in 2013, which was the then second-fastest ton by an Indian in the 50-over format. Mumbai dasher Suryakumar Yadav smashed his record a few days ago, reaching the three-figure mark in 50 balls against Puducherry. However, the 20-year-old Punjab batsman surpassed them with his blitzes against Madhya Pradesh. Notably, former Baroda all-rounder Yusuf Pathan stays at the top for his unbeaten 108, which came off just 40 balls against Maharashtra in the 2009-10 Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Meanwhile, Sharma, in total, scored 104 off 49 balls before getting out in the 18th over. His teammates couldn’t make the stellar start count as Punjab got bundled out for 297, losing the game by 105 runs. With this, Punjab also knocked out of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021. Although Madhya Pradesh emerge victorious in the contest, they also fall short of qualifying for the quarter-finals. Andhra           Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are the two teams from Group B qualifying for the next stage.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 01, 2021 04:34 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).