Head coach Gautam Gambhir sets 300 runs as Team India's next target in T20Is

Gautam Gambhir (Pic: File Pic)

In the third T20I match against Afghanistan, Team India secured a win by 127 runs at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.

During the match, Team India managed to post 100 runs in the powerplay, thanks to Abhishek Sharma's explosive display.

Following the achievement, Team India's head coach Gautam Gambhir said that it was the biggest positive for him as the team had never done that in his coaching tenure.

"For me the biggest positive was when we got a 100 in the powerplay. That we have never done in my coaching tenure. So I think that was a very clear message that if you're going hard, just keep going hard," he said.

He then said that, considering the talent, the next target for the "Men in Blue" will be to reach 300 runs in the shortest format of the game.

"That is what the message is and that is exactly the message that's going to be in future as well that we still haven't reached 300. So that's probably the next target because the kind of talent we have in that dressing room, we should be doing some incredible things," said Gambhir.

IND vs AFG 3rd T20I: Abhishek Sharma's records

What stood out during the third T20I match against Afghanistan was Abhishek's fiery century. Facing just 34 deliveries, the left-handed batsman smashed 108 runs, laced with nine boundaries and 11 maximums.

With this, he became the fastest Indian batsman to score a century in T20Is. The left-handed batsman took just 30 balls to reach the celebrated three figures. Previously, veteran opening batsman Rohit Sharma held the record, who scored a 35-ball hundred against Sri Lanka at the Holkar Cricket Stadium.

Abhishek's century is also the fastest T20I ton by a batsman against a Test-playing nation.

The 26-year-old cricketer's ton is also the third fastest hundred overall in T20 Internationals, behind Sahil Chauhan's 27-ball ton for Estonia against Cyprus and Muhammad Fahad's 29-ball hundred for Turkey against Bulgaria.

The Amritsar-born cricketer also holds the first and second positions on the list of most sixes hit in a T20I innings for India. His 11 sixes against Afghanistan on Thursday sit just behind his 13 sixes against England in Mumbai in February last year.

(With PTI Inputs)