Indore (Madhya Pradesh) [India]: Urvil Patel, the 26-year-old Gujarat wicketkeeper-batter, broke star India player Rishabh Pant’s record for fastest T20 century by an Indian and overall, second-fastest century in the format, reaching the milestone in just 28 balls during the Syed Mushtaq Ali match against Tripura on Wednesday.
Urvil came to bat while chasing a 156-run target for his side against Tripura and ripped apart the opposition’s bowling attack with his one-man army effort, scoring seven fours and 12 sixes. His strike rate was 322.86. He helped his team reach the match-winning total with eight wickets and 58 balls left.
His opening partner Aarya Desai (38 in 24 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) also played a crucial knock and held one end steady.
Earlier, after Gujarat won the toss and opted to field first, Sridam Paul (57 in 49 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes) top-scored for Tripura as they reached 155/8 in their 20 overs. Arzan Nagwaswalla (3/35) was the pick of the bowlers for Gujarat. Chintan Gaja also picked up two wickets for 18 runs in three overs, while Axar Patel got one wicket.
Notably, Urvil had registered himself for the Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction but found no takers for himself in Jeddah, after being bought by the Gujarat Titans (GT) ahead of 2023 season. He is yet to play a game in the league, as per Wisden.
In 44 T20s, he has scored 988 runs at an average of 23.52, with a strike rate of 164.11. He has also scored a century and four fifties, with the best score of 113*.
The record for fastest T20 century is held by Estonia’s Sahil Chauhan, who achieved the milestone in 27 balls against Cyprus this year. Pant’s 32-ball ton, which was previously the fastest T20 ton by an Indian, came against Himachal Pradesh in 2018.