The star cricketer Sikandar Raza created history by scoring the fastest-ever century in T20I cricket on Wednesday. Zimbabwe skipper smashed a 33-ball hundred against Gambia in the T20 World Cup Qualifier game to break Rohit Sharma and David Miller's sensational record.
Raza, 38, took just 33 balls to set a new world record for the fastest T20I hundred by a player from a full-time member nation. Both Rohit and Miller previously registered a 35-ball T20I hundreds in 2017.
The veteran all-rounder top-scored with 133* off just 43 balls with the help of seven fours and 15 sixes against Gambia. He registered the joint-fourth-highest sixes in a T20I innings and narrowly missed out on Estonia's Sahil Chauhan's record of 18 sixes in an innings.
Raza's heroics also helped Zimbabwe set a new world record for the highest T20I total. Zimbabwe posted 344 for 4 while batting first and broke the previous highest T20I innings total of 314 set by Nepal against Mongolia in 2023. Brian Bennett, Clive Mandade and Tadiwanashe Marumani contributed with quick fifties each as Zimbabwe shattered multiple T20I records with a memorable innings at Ruaraka Sports Club Ground in Nairobi.
Zimbabwe batters produced 57 boundaries in their innings, a new T20 world record and also set a new high by hitting 27 sixes. Gambia's bowler Musa Jorbateh conceded 93 runs in his four overs, a new record for the most runs conceded by a bowler in a T20I innings.
Gambia had no answers to ZImbabwe's strong bowling attack as they stumbled to just 54 runs, triggering the new world record for the biggest loss by margin of runs, 290.
Fastest T20I century (full-time member)
- Sikandar Raza - 33 balls vs Namibia, 2024
- Rohit Sharma - 35 balls vs Sri Lanka, 2017
- David Miller - 35 balls vs Bangladesh, 2017
- Johnson Charles - 39 balls vs South Africa, 2023
- Sanju Samson - 40 balls vs Bangladesh, 2024
Meanwhile, Sikandar Raza will be looking to remind Punjab Kings' management of his worth as the IPL franchises are currently scratching their heads over the player retentions for the 2025 season. The deadline to submit the final retention list is October 31 and Raza's name will make the rounds in the PBKS's think tank after his stellar knock against Gambia.
