Abhishek Sharma scored a 30-ball century against Afghanistan in the third final.
Abhishek, who had scored 82 and 39 runs in the first two matches, boosted the morale of the national team with an impassioned, Punjabi-infused pep talk. Just before taking the field, Sharma led the team huddle, encouraging his teammates to keep up their aggressive style of cricket and amuse the home audience as the hosts sought a clean sweep in the bilateral series.
"I'm going to speak Punjabi. So, boys, today 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. It's the last match of the series; look at the crowd. We are going to give them full entertainment. Alright? Otherwise, let's smash it. Chak de phatte, nap de killi, subah Jalandhar, shaam nu Delhi,” Abhishek’s speech was shared on BCCI's social media handles.
The video of the brief message swiftly spread throughout social media sites, receiving applause from supporters who praised the youngster's leadership abilities.
When the match began, Abhishek Sharma backed his words with a record-breaking century after Afghanistan captain Ibrahim Zadran asked India to bat first. He smashed a fifty in 16 balls and reached his three-figure milestone in just 30 balls. Overall, Abhishek made 108 in 34 balls with 9 fours and 11 sixes.
This was the third-fastest century in T20Is and the fastest by a batter from a full member nation, breaking Finn Allen’s T20 World Cup 2026 record of 33 balls.
India made 221/7 in 20 overs, as Sanju Samson also made 50 runs off 35 balls, and the openers made 142 runs in 9.5 overs. Afghanistan was bowled out for 94 runs as Ravi Bishnoi and Nitish Kumar Reddy picked three wickets apiece.