On Tuesday, October 17, Punjab achieved a historic milestone in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy by recording the highest team total in the tournament's history. Under the leadership of KS Bharat, the team amassed a total of 275 runs for the loss of six wickets in their match against Andhra at the JSCA International Stadium Complex, Ranchi.
Abhishek Sharma's explosive 112 runs from 51 balls played a pivotal role in Punjab's record-breaking total. This performance surpassed the previous record set by Mumbai in 2019 when they scored 258 runs for the loss of four wickets against Sikkim at the Emerald High School Ground in Indore.
Punjab also established a new record for the most sixes hit by an Indian T20 team, with an impressive 22 sixes, surpassing the previous record of 21 held by RCB from a game in 2013. Sharma's century featured 9 boundaries and 9 sixes, while wicket-keeper Anmolpreet Singh contributed with a quick 87 runs from just 26 balls, including 9 sixes.
Andhra's Harisankar Reddy conceded 66 runs in his four overs, while Yarra Prithviraj gave away 63 runs in his four-over spell during the match.
In response, Andhra struggled and managed to post a total of only 170 runs, resulting in a 105-run victory for Punjab. Ricky Bhui's impressive century, scoring an unbeaten 104 runs from 52 balls, was not enough to secure victory for Andhra.
Another significant record was broken in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on Tuesday when Railways' cricketer Ashutosh Sharma broke Yuvraj Singh's record for the fastest half-century by an Indian in T20 cricket. Ashutosh achieved this milestone in a mere 11 balls, surpassing Yuvraj's memorable 12-ball half-century against England in the 2007 T20 World Cup, a match known for Yuvraj's six sixes in an over against Stuart Broad.
It's worth noting that in the Men's T20 format, Nepal holds the record for the highest score, having posted 314 runs for the loss of three wickets in the recently concluded Asian Games in Hangzhou.