Young Pakistani player Muhammad Shahad sets new record for fastest century in first-class cricket

Abhishek Sharma created a real storm with the bat in the third and final T20 match against Afghanistan, changing sports history. For this historic innings, he received special advice from his mentor, Yuvraj Singh, just one day before the match.

Yuvraj advised Abhishek not to try to force every delivery. He recommended taking singles or doubles for player rotation if the ball did not come into his hitting zone.

Abhishek shared that he received a message that he should not force himself to play every ball, especially if the ball was outside his comfort zone, and instead take one or two singles.

Following this, Abhishek demonstrated a performance in Delhi that will be remembered for a long time. He scored a hundred runs in just 30 balls. This became the fastest century in T20I among a full squad player, and also broke Rohit Sharma's record for the fastest century in T20I for India.

Abhishek played a powerful innings of 108 runs, which helped India score 221/7 in 20 overs. In response, the Afghanistan team was dismissed for only 94 runs. India won the match by a margin of 127 runs. Nitish Kumar Reddy and Ravi Bishnoi took three wickets each.

The series turned out to be magnificent for Abhishek. In three matches, he scored 82, 39, and 108 runs respectively, totaling 229 runs. In all three games, he provided India with a quick start.

Before the series against Afghanistan, Abhishek had faced difficulties scoring runs during his visit to Zimbabwe. The team also had questions regarding the batting order. However, he managed to return to the game brilliantly. This was his third century in T20I for India and his second century scored in less than 40 balls.

During the current T20 series against Afghanistan, Indian batsman Abhishek Sharma demonstrated outstanding performance, allowing him to significantly improve his position in the ICC world rankings. Thanks to his strong batting, he surpassed Pakistani player Sahibzada Farhan and secured second place in the ICC T20 batsmen rankings.

Thus, both top spots in the T20 rankings are held by players from India, as vice-captain Ishan Kishan continues to hold the number one spot. This means that the two best T20 batsmen in the world are now associated with India.

In the first two matches against Afghanistan, Abhishek Sharma impressed his opponents with powerful innings. In the first match, he scored an impressive 82 runs off just 32 balls, leading India to an easy victory. Following this, in the second match, he played a rapid innings of 39 runs off only 19 balls. It was this excellent form that helped him climb the rankings, pushing Sahibzada Farhan to second place.

Not only batsmen but also Indian bowlers have gained recognition in the new ICC rankings. Varun Chakravarthy moved up two places to take fifth position. Star bowler Jasprit Bumrah made a significant leap into the top 10, securing tenth place. Additionally, Arshdeep Singh (14th place) and Axar Patel (27th place) also achieved good progress in the rankings.

India has already taken the lead over Afghanistan with a score of 2-0 in the first two matches of the series. The third and final match of the series will take place tomorrow, September 17, in Delhi, where the Indian team aims for a complete rout of their opponent.

Decisions made regarding players in Pakistani cricket have recently been a constant source of questions. The incident of Rajaula's fast bowling, debuting against England in a match at Edgbaston, became another chapter in this story.

The start of his debut was impressive: he forced the English batsmen to play cautiously. However, the situation changed drastically by the end of the day.

Rajaula began his game with his first delivery at a speed of about 85 MPH, which is approximately 137 KMPH. The ball hit a good area and quickly went over Dan Lawrence's right shoulder. The next delivery was at 87 MPH or 140 KMPH. By the end of the over, he reached a speed of about 90 MPH, or approximately 145 KMPH.

By the end of the day, Rajaula had bowled only 23 overs, conceding 148 runs and taking 4 wickets. His economy rate was 6.43. No other bowler bowled more overs during England's innings. Notably, Rajaula continued to bowl from one end even when Pakistan was awaiting the declaration of the game by the lower order of England.

At the beginning of the game, Rajaula's balls were characterized by speed and good length, forcing Joe Root and Harry Brook to play cautiously. However, the constant strain began to take its toll. The speed of 90 MPH gradually decreased, then dropped to the High-80s level, and eventually stabilized at around 82-84 MPH, corresponding to 132-135 KMPH.

England's lower order took advantage of this. Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, and Ollie Robinson scored 56 runs off 39 balls against Rajaula. The bowler whom Root and Brook feared because of his pace became a target for open shots from the lower order batsmen of England.

23 overs, 148 runs... A disgraceful record created

Rajaula's statistics were not only expensive but also recorded in the record books. His economy rate of 6.43 for a bowler who bowled at least 20 overs in England was recognized as the worst among all. This is also the third most expensive figure among all fast bowlers in the world for spells of at least 20 overs. Despite taking four wickets, his performance caused serious concern in Pakistan.

Rizwan is absent, Gori came in... But the blame does not lie only on the wicketkeeper

In England's first innings, Pakistan conceded a total of 45 extras (extras), 18 of which were wides. Looking at this statistic, it cannot be considered fair to place the blame solely on the debutant wicketkeeper Gazi Gori. Gori, who replaced Mohammad Rizwan, did not hesitate to stand close to the stumps upon the bowler's instruction.