Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2018: Carnage at Kotla as Rishabh Pant Slams 32-Ball Century

Making the most of his form, Rishabh Pant scored a belligerent century to fire Delhi to a thumping ten-wicket win over Himachal Pradesh in Zonal T20 League on Sunday (January 14).

The wicketkeeper-batsman smashed the fastest-ever T20 century by an Indian, reaching the landmark off just 32 balls, as Delhi made short work of Himachal Pradesh.

One can get a measure of the carnage the left-handed batsman inflicted on Himachal Pradesh from the fact that his opening partner Gautam Gambhir could score only 30 while Pant slammed 116 off just 38 balls.

The stunning knock came off just 38 balls and was studded with eight fours and as many as 12 sixes. The knock also helped him to shatter Rohit Sharma’s record of fastest-ever T20 century by an Indian.

Rohit had scored a 35-ball century last month during the second T20 International against Sri Lanka. The record of fastest-ever T20 century is held by Chris Gayle who had scored a 30-ball century against now-defunct Indian Premier League side Pune Warriors in 2013.

Meanwhile, Delhi reached the 145-run target in just 11.4 overs. Earlier, disciplined bowling from the bowlers had helped Delhi to restrict Himachal Pradesh to 144 for eight in the allotted 20 overs.

Nikhil Gangta top-scored for the visitors, scoring 40 off 27 while Delhi captain Pradeep Sangwan was the most successful bowler with two wickets to his name.

Pant, who had struggled for consistency in the last Ranji Trophy season, has found his devastating form in the Zonal T20 tournament. After scoring 38 and nine in the first two games, he slammed 55 off just 33 balls in the last game against Jammu and Kashmir before scoring the record-breaking ton.

Here are the results of other games:

Jammu and Kashmir 164/3 defeat Punjab 141/10 by 23 runs

Andhra Pradesh 201/4 defeat Goa 183/9 by 18 runs

Karnataka 181/6 defeat Kerala 161/10 by 20 runs

Jharkhand 149/2 defeat Assam 148/6 by eight wickets

Tamil Nadu 193/7 defeat Hyderabad 177/8 by 16 runs

Madhya Pradesh 154/5 defeat Chhattisgarh 150/7 by five wickets

Delhi 148/0 defeat Himachal Pradesh 114/8 by 10 wickets

Bengal 170/1 defeat Tripura 169/4 by nine wickets