Estonia's Sahil breaks Chris Gayle's record to hit fastest T20 hundred

New Delhi,UPDATED: Jun 18, 2024 00:10 IST

Estonian batsman Sahil Chauhan on Monday scripted a new record for the fastest century in men's T20Is, scoring a hundred in just 27 balls against Cyprus. Chauhan broke Namibian Jan-Nicol Loftie Eaton's record of 33 balls to complete his T20I century against Nepal in February 2024. Chauhan now has the record for the fastest century in T20s, surpassing Chris Gayle's 30-ball century in IPL 2013. In the second game of the six-match series between Estonia and Cyprus on Monday in Episkopi, the hosts batted first and scored 191/7, with Taranjit Singh smashing 44 off 17 balls. Chamal Sadun scored 28 for Cyprus, while Pranay Gheewala and Arslan Amjad took two wickets each for Estonia.

Estonia got off to the worst possible start in the chase, losing three wickets for just 40 runs before Chauhan took control of the innings, reaching fifty in just 14 balls and completing a century in 27 balls. He finished on 144 not out in just 41 balls as Estonia won by six wickets with seven overs left. Sahil's knock included 18 sixes, the most by a player in a men's T20I innings, surpassing Afghanistan's Hazratullah Zazai and New Zealand's Finn Allen, who each had 16 sixes in their record-breaking knocks of 162 and 137.

In the second game, Cyprus scored 191/7 in 20 overs, with Taranjit Singh (44 in 17 balls, two fours and five sixes) leading the way. Estonia completed the chase in 13 overs with six wickets in hand, with Bilal Masud scoring the next highest (21*). This was the second match of the day for the two teams. Chauhan was dismissed for a golden duck in the first game, which Estonia also won by five wickets.