Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) batter Abhishek Sharma smashed the fifth-fastest hundred in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The left-handed batter got to the landmark off 40 balls in the IPL 2025 clash on Saturday, April 12 against the Shreyas Iyer-led Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
Abhishek’s century was also the second-fastest by an SRH batter in IPL history. Travis Head holds the record after his 39-ball hundred against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) last year at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Overall, the record for the fastest IPL hundred belongs to Chris Gayle, who hit a 30-ball ton for RCB back in 2013 against the now-defunct Pune Warriors.
Chris Gayle (Royal Challengers Bengaluru – 30 balls against Pune Warriors – 2013
Yusuf Pathan (Rajasthan Royals) – 37 balls against Mumbai Indians – 2010
David Miller (Punjab Kings) – 38 balls against Royal Challengers Bengaluru – 2013
Travis Head (Sunrisers Hyderabad) – 39 balls against Royal Challengers Bengaluru – 2024
Priyansh Arya (Punjab Kings – 39 balls against Chennai Super Kings – 2025
Abhishek Sharma (Sunrisers Hyderabad) – 40 balls against Punjab Kings – 2025
Abhishek Sharma returns to form
Abhishek didn’t have the best of times in the first five matches of IPL 2025, scoring only 51 runs at an average of 10.20. But he returned to form against the Kings, showing his true calibre. After SRH were asked to chase down a massive target of 246, Abhishek and Travis Head took the attack to the PBKS bowlers.
Abhishek got to his fifty off 19 balls and showed why he is deemed as one of the brightest prospects in Indian cricket. Abhishek and Head also shared a huge partnership of 171 runs off 12.2 overs with Head, who eventually got out to Yuzvendra Chahal. Abhishek also has T20I hundreds to his name against Zimbabwe and England.
