Abhishek Sharma becomes first batter to hit 100 powerplay sixes in T20Is

The second T20 International between India and New Zealand was played in Christchurch today. India won the match by four wickets and now lead the series 2-0.

India's star opener Abhishek Sharma returned to the pavilion after an innings of 27 runs. He failed to make a big score, but created a new record in T20 International cricket.

Abhishek has become the first player in the world to complete a century of sixes in the powerplay in T20 Internationals. He reached the figure with his first six against New Zealand. He faced a total of 776 balls to achieve the mark.

Abhishek has so far played 69 T20 Internationals and hit 147 sixes in them. Of these, 100 have come in the first six overs.

India's former captain Rohit Sharma is second on the list. He has hit 98 sixes in the powerplay, and needed to play 1,672 balls for them. New Zealand opener Martin Guptill is third, having hit 97 sixes while batting in the powerplay.

The list of those with the most powerplay sixes is: Abhishek Sharma (India) 100, Rohit Sharma (India) 98, Martin Guptill (New Zealand) 97, Paul Stirling (Ireland) 94 and Quinton de Kock (South Africa) 87.

Abhishek's T20 International career has been outstanding so far. In 69 matches he has scored 2,127 runs, including three centuries and 14 half-centuries. A five-match T20 series against the West Indies was played recently. He scored a half-century in one of the five matches, but did not make an impression in the others.

Though the score was small, the record has made the Christchurch match a memorable one for Abhishek. He has also achieved another major feat.