Brisbane: Indian opener Abhishek Sharma achieved a significant milestone by scoring his 1,000th run in T20 internationals during the fifth and final T20I against Australia at the Gabba on Saturday, November 8. He reached this mark with an unbeaten score of 23 runs off just 13 balls, making him the fastest player among full-member nations to achieve this feat in terms of balls faced, needing only 528, surpassing his captain Suryakumar Yadav. Abhishek became the second-fastest Indian to reach 1,000 runs in T20Is in terms of innings, achieving the milestone in 28 innings, following Virat Kohli.
Fastest to 1,000 runs in T20Is (balls) – full-member nations:
- 528 – Abhishek Sharma (India)
- 573 – Suryakumar Yadav (India)
- 599 – Phil Salt (England)
- 604 – Glenn Maxwell (Australia)
Fastest to 1,000 runs in T20Is (innings):
- 24 – Dawid Malan (England), Sabawoon Davizi (Czech Republic)
- 25 – Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming (Japan)
- 26 – Babar Azam (Pakistan), Devon Conway (New Zealand), Muhammad Waseem (UAE)
- 27 – Virat Kohli (India), Karanbir Singh (Austria)
- 28 – Abhishek Sharma (India)
In the previous match on the Gold Coast, Abhishek required 39 runs to reach the milestone but fell short with a score of 28. On Saturday, he was briefly at risk of missing his record after being dropped by Glenn Maxwell when he had only five runs. However, he managed to mark the landmark before facing another drop. Demonstrating his ability to find form, he struck Nathan Ellis for a boundary, sending a short ball over the leg side.
The match faced disruptions from lightning and rain, affecting the momentum as India surged to a score of 52 runs in just 4.5 overs. Abhishek’s opening partner, Shubman Gill, also looked to play aggressively, remaining unbeaten on 29 with a strike rate of 181 before the interruption. India held a 2-1 lead in the series, with a potential washout of the match allowing them to secure a series win, considering the opener in Canberra had already been washed out.
