Abhishek Sharma’s fastest century and calmest celebration

By K.R. Nayar

Indian opener Abhishek Sharma’s meditation celebration after hitting the fastest T20I century ever scored by a player from an ICC Full Member (Test-playing) nation, in New Delhi against Afghanistan in 30 balls, seems to reveal a lot more than his record-shattering feat. The fact that a man who played the most violent knock in T20 cricket celebrated it by sitting cross-legged, closing his eyes and adopting a meditative posture says a lot.

Abhishek’s thirty-ball century, during the course of his knock of 108 in 34 balls, with 11 sixes and nine fours, was aggressive, and his decision to opt for a few seconds of tranquillity after the feat, was unexpected. In fact, Abhishek has revealed that through the practice of meditation, which he does regularly, the body can be explosive while the mind remains calm. As a result, he has beaten the previous Full Member batters’ record of reaching a century in 33 balls, jointly held by Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza and New Zealand’s Finn Allen. He also erased Rohit Sharma’s Indian record of scoring a century in 35 balls, which had stood since 2017.

Abhishek’s celebration style was more than a fashionable pose. This pose was made famous by football superstar Erling Haaland. Incidentally, Haaland’s familiar ‘Zen’ celebration is associated with Buddhist traditions, which involve practices centred on awareness, attention and being fully present, rather than simply sitting with one’s eyes closed.

Abhishek mentions meditation has helped him manage stress, cultivate sharp attention and remaining present in demanding situations. His whirlwind knock is proof that issues such as stress, anxiety and sleep problems can be overcome through meditation.

Abhishek has also shown that meditation can create the mental space for a player to execute his skills, and that could be the reason why he got the scoreboard race at breakneck speed.

Abhishek’s Padmasana posture is also called the lotus position in yoga. It is not about how spectacularly one can fold your legs; rather it is about how quietly one can settle the mind.

The records that Abhishek broke, as well as those that escaped being shattered, are cricket’s big news now. He reached his 50 in 16 balls and reached his hundred from the next 14 deliveries. He could not break the record for the fastest T20I fifty, held by his mentor Yuvraj Singh, who had reached the mark in 12 balls against England in 2007. In fact, Abhishek has scored a 12-ball fifty for Punjab against Bengal in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025 in domestic cricket.

Abhishek’s century is still only the third-fastest century in men’s T20Is overall, as Estonia’s Sahil Chauhan holds the overall record at 27 balls, while Turkey’s Muhammad Fahad reached the three figures in 29 balls.

Abhishek’s feat raises an important question – should all cricketers practise meditation to bring out their best? The modern cricketer lives under enormous pressure, with selection battles, social media scrutiny, enormous expectations and the fear of failure. In such an environment, when one intentionally takes a pause, breathes in, and returns to the present can be immensely helpful. When the bat can produce fire, perhaps peace in the mind is equally important. Abhishek forced the Afghanistan bowlers to search for answers to stop him without being aware of the practice he uses to calm his mind.

Abhishek has also delivered a message to youngsters – play with aggression, but live with composure. His spectacular exhibition of fearless batting and extraordinary hand-eye coordination is because he has a mind that refuses to be overwhelmed by the occasion.

Meditation will not teach a batsman how to hit a six, but it can teach him not to be affected after missing one. Abhishek’s sixes were cricket’s version of a rocket launch. This must be the only instance where a batter, after committing batting violence, looked totally relaxed. Thirty balls of brutality followed by the lotus position as if he completed a peaceful morning yoga session says it all.