New Delhi, Sep 18 — Eclipsing Rohit Sharma’s record for fastest men’s T20I century by an India batter through smashing a breathtaking 30-ball century against Afghanistan, left-handed opener Abhishek Sharma said achieving this at the Arun Jaitley Stadium stands as a defining milestone and attributed the blistering knock to a fearless team environment backing him to play aggressively.

Abhishek tore into the Afghanistan bowling attack by hitting 108 off just 34 balls and took India to a formidable 221/7, as they won by 127 runs to win the series 3-0. His 30-ball century broke the record for the fastest T20I hundred by a Test-playing nation batter, surpassing the previous record of 33-ball tons held by Zimbabwe's Sikandar Raza and New Zealand's Finn Allen.

The fastest overall hundred in T20 cricket remains Sahil Chauhan’s 27-ball effort for Estonia. Abhishek brought up his landmark century, his third ton in the format, with a quick single before dropping into a brief meditation pose on the pitch to celebrate. He was eventually dismissed by leg-spinner Rashid Khan, but after hitting nine boundaries and 11 sixes.

"It's a big achievement, not for just me, for all the Indians I could probably say, because I still remember the way Rohit bhaji used to play T20 cricket, I really loved and enjoyed when I was watching back at home and breaking that record, it's one of my biggest achievements for now," Abhishek said in a video posted on bcci.tv on Friday.

Highlighting the firm backing from head coach Gautam Gambhir and T20I captain Shreyas Iyer, Abhishek stated that minor setbacks like the defeats in Ireland and England did not diminish the batting unit's aggressive blueprint built over the last two years.

"I said on the first day as well when I got the Man of the Match award, we dominated the whole two years before the World Cup and probably just after the World Cup, 1-2 series can't define our betting department and the way we want to play.

"It's our responsibility as a batter to make sure we create that atmosphere again, where we have freedom to just go and express ourselves. Big mention to coach and captain because once they are on your side, I feel it gives you more freedom and confidence."

Abhishek further revealed that Gambhir explicitly tasked him with driving that high-tempo mindset from the outset by giving a pep talk in the pre-match team huddle in Punjabi. "I still remember in the first practice session when we spoke about how we want to dominate again and in that process you have to be fearless, you have to think about the team always.

“I still remember once I started when Sky was there, so he always wanted me to utilise the power play, because if you see a T20 game is mostly about the power-plays. So that's what GG bhai was saying - he wanted me to just create that atmosphere and create that in the team dressing room where you can just go and be fearless and play the way you want and express yourself," he explained.

"GG bhai came to me before the game only that I have to speak in the huddle, so I asked him if I can speak in Punjabi, because I feel when a Punjabi speaks in Punjabi, it actually motivates the whole team. I called the team Soormas, that means warriors. Soormas are those who always play in their way and win the games, so that's why I wanted to create that intent in the team just before the game," he added.

Addressing his team-mates in the huddle, Abhishek rallied the Indian team by saying, “I’m going to speak in Punjabi. So, boys, we are going to play like Soormas. Soorma means warriors. The way we’ve been playing this entire series, that’s exactly how we need to finish it today.

“Warriors never show mercy to anyone. We aren’t letting them off the hook today. Look at the crowd, we’ll have to give them full entertainment. Alright? Otherwise, let's smash it. Chak de phatte, nap de killi, subah Jalandhar, shaam nu Dilli.”

Explaining the light-hearted ending to his speech, Abhishek said, “After that, as I said, because we are playing in Delhi, so we have this line, I think Navjot Singh Sidhu sir used to say a lot, so that's what I wanted to make it a bit lighter atmosphere in the team."

Off the park, Abhishek credited meditation and visualization routines for helping him maintain mental clarity under pressure. “I mean, yes, I was manifesting this because the things I can't tell what I'm getting from meditation and I just wanted to convey in this way because that's how as a cricketer audience and people would enjoy and they would listen to you.

“I feel from the last six months or probably one year, I've been doing a bit of manifestation, a bit of meditation and it's actually helping me a lot. So, I just wanted to convey this message.

“Whoever youngsters who wants to learn something new, I feel this is something which I've recovered, which I've discovered actually from last six months, seven months and it actually helped me a lot and just being a bit more spiritual, that's it.”

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