New Delhi: Following a varied beginning to his international cricket journey Abhishek Sharma proved the selection committee along with Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar Yadavs unwavering confidence in him during the first T20I match between India and England at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday January 22. Following an impressive performance by the Indian bowlers who limited England to a mere 132 runs Varun Chakravarthy stood out with three wickets. Rohit Sharma then guided India to successfully chase down the target in just 12.5 overs achieving a run rate of 10.36. Following Jofra Archers impressive over where he took the wickets of Sanju Samson and Suryakumar Yadav India found themselves in a challenging position. However Abhishek maintained Indias aggressive strategy by scoring 79 runs off just 34 balls achieving a strike rate of 232.35. His innings included five fours and eight sixes. Abhishek achieved a remarkable milestone in Kolkata by setting the world record for the fastest T20I innings (70+ runs) by any player in India. The previous record was held by South Africas David Miller who scored an unbeaten 106 in Guwahati in 2022 with a strike rate of 225.53. Abhishek has surpassed Yuvraj Singhs 2013 record for the fastest innings (70+ runs) by an Indian in a run-chase in T20 cricket with Yuvraj being his mentor. Prior to Abhishek only three Indian players had scored over 70 runs at a strike rate exceeding 200 in a run-chase. Abhishek debuted in T20I cricket last year against Zimbabwe after an outstanding performance in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 where he became the first player ever to score over 400 runs in a season while maintaining a strike rate exceeding 200. The 24-year-old achieved a century in his second match for the Indian team in Harare marking the fastest T20I century by an Indian based on the number of innings since debut. However his performance declined after that innings although he did manage to score a half-century against South Africa in Centurion in November. To date he has participated in 13 T20Is accumulating 335 runs with an average of 27.91 and a strike rate of 183.06 including one century and two half-centuries.