Abhishek Sharma became the Indian batter with the most T20 centuries on October 4, 2026, surpassing Virat Kohli’s tally during the third T20I against New Zealand at Wellington. The left-hander struck a 38-ball 113, hitting nine fours and 11 sixes at a strike rate of 297.37, to claim his 11th T20 hundred and move one clear of Kohli’s mark of 10.
With 11 T20 centuries to his name, Abhishek now sits third on the all-time list across all formats of T20 cricket. Only West Indies batter Chris Gayle, who holds 22 T20 centuries, and Pakistan’s Babar Azam, who has 13, are ahead of him globally.
In T20 Internationals specifically, Abhishek’s century in Wellington was his fourth, placing him joint second in T20I history. He levels with Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and England’s Phil Salt on four T20I hundreds. Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell leads that list outright with five T20I centuries.
How does Abhishek Sharma’s overall T20I record look after this innings?
Across 70 T20Is and 69 innings, Abhishek has accumulated 2,240 runs at an average of 33.43 and a strike rate of 196.83. He has scored four centuries and 14 fifties in that span, with a best score of 135.
In the current calendar year alone, he has played 37 T20Is and made 1,125 runs at an average of 31.25 and a strike rate of 206.42, including two centuries and eight fifties. His best score this year stands at 113, the knock he produced in Wellington.
The Wellington innings was also the seventh occasion on which Abhishek hit 10 or more sixes in a single T20I innings. Only Chris Gayle has done so more often, achieving that feat 18 times. Among T20I batters specifically, Abhishek has now done it three times compared to Gayle’s two, while Austria’s Karanbir Singh has managed it five times across all T20 internationals.
The assault also made Abhishek only the third Indian to reach 150 T20I sixes. He currently stands at 158 sixes, behind Suryakumar Yadav’s 179 and Rohit Sharma’s 205. As a specific honourable mention, Abhishek is just 40 runs short of breaking Suryakumar’s record of 1,164 T20I runs in a calendar year by an Indian, set in 2022.
How did the third T20I against New Zealand unfold in Wellington?
India won the toss and chose to bowl first. New Zealand opener Tim Seifert was removed for just 2, but a second-wicket stand of 86 between Finn Allen and Daryl Mitchell steadied the home side. Allen made 40 off 25 balls with five fours before departing, while Glenn Phillips contributed only 17 off 14 deliveries despite back-to-back fifties in the series. Mitchell remained unbeaten on 89 off 52 balls, striking five fours and five sixes, and Bevon Jacobs added an unbeaten 39 off 23 balls with four boundaries and a six. New Zealand finished on 198 for 3 in 20 overs. Arshdeep Singh, Axar Patel and Nitish Kumar Reddy each claimed one wicket.
In reply, Abhishek and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi launched an aggressive opening stand that took India to 133 in just seven overs. Sooryavanshi contributed 45 off 19 balls, hitting four boundaries and four sixes. The tourists eventually romped home in 13.2 overs with six wickets in the bank.
