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Batter Sahil Chauhan from Estonia broke West Indies legend Chris Gayle's record, smashing the fastest century in T20 cricket in just 27 balls during a game against Cyprus on Monday.
Gayle's record of 30-ball century, which came for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2013, was broken during a bilateral series between these two teams at Episkopi, which consists of six matches. During his knock of 144* in just 41 balls, Sahil smashed six boundaries and 18 sixes. His runs came at a strike rate of over 351. The fastest T20I century earlier belonged to Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton of Namibia, who smashed a 33-ball ton against Nepal in February 2024. Sahil's effort is also the fastest century in T20I cricket. The knock by Sahil had 18 sixes, the most by a player in a men's T20I innings, outdoing Afghanistan's Hazratullah Zazai and New Zealand's Finn Allen, who had 16 sixes each in their record-breaking knocks of 162 and 137. In the second game, Cyprus made 191/7 in their 20 overs, with Taranjit Singh (44 in 17 balls, with two fours and five sixes) being the top-scorer. Estonia chased it down in just 13 overs with six wickets in hand, with the next-highest score being Bilal Masud (21*). Estonia now lead the six-match series in Cyrpus 2-0, having chased down a target of 196 in the opening match of Monday's double-header with three balls and five wickets remaining. However, on that against Chauhan could not have had a more contrasting impact with the bat, dismissed for a golden duck. The series continues with another double-header on Tuesday, June 18 in Episkopi. (ANI)
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