Abhishek Sharma blazes to second-fastest T20I ton by an Indian, but falls short of Rohit Sharma's record

Abhishek Sharma (Pic: AFP)

Abhishek Sharma entered beast mode during the fifth and final T20I of the series against England in Mumbai on Sunday.

The explosive opener hammered the second-fastest century by an Indian in T20I cricket history at Wankhede Stadium. He reached his remarkable ton in just 37 balls, narrowly missing the record held by Rohit Sharma by two balls.

Earlier, Abhishek slammed the second-fastest fifty for India, achieving the milestone in just 17 balls. Yuvraj Singh currently holds the record for the fastest fifty, having reached the mark in a mere 12 balls during the 2007 T20 World Cup clash against England. It was in this iconic match that Yuvraj famously struck Stuart Broad for six consecutive sixes in an over.

Meanwhile, England skipper Jos Buttler won the toss and elected to bowl as the tourists look for a consolation win. The visitors made one change at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium from their previous loss that gave India an unbeatable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.

Speedster Mark Wood comes in pace of Saqib Mahmood, who claimed three wickets in his first over of the last match without conceding a run. India also made one change, with fast bowler Mohammed Shami replacing left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh as the hosts look to finish on a high going into the three ODI matches.

Skipper Suryakumar Yadav said he would have anyway batted first had he won the toss. The white-ball series serves as a tune-up for the two teams ahead of the 50-overs Champions Trophy starting February 19.