Abhishek Sharma vs Quinton de Kock - comparing their stats after 17 T20Is 

Team India opener Abhishek Sharma took world cricket by storm with his record-breaking hundred in the fifth T20I against England at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, February 2. Asked to bat first in the final match of the series, the Indian openers went berserk against England's pacers.

Although Sanju Samson perished in the second over, Abhishek continued his carnage in front of a packed Wankhede crowd. The southpaw raced to his half-century off just 17 deliveries - the second-fastest by an Indian batter after Yuvraj Singh (12 balls).

Abhishek's blitzkrieg showed no signs of stopping as he reached the three-figure mark in just 37 balls, recording the second-fastest T20I century by an Indian batter after Rohit Sharma (35 balls).

Although regular wickets at the other end slowed down the strike-rate, the 24-year-old still managed 135 runs off 54 deliveries, including 13 sixes and seven boundaries. It is now the highest score by an Indian batter in the shortest format of the game, going past Shubman Gill's (126*) against New Zealand in Ahmedabad in 2023.

Riding on the Abhishek Sharma show, India posted 247/9 in their 20 overs before bundling out England for 97 to secure a mammoth 150-run win. Given Abhishek's glorious form, many former cricketers have tipped him to be India's opener for the foreseeable future.

In this article, we compare Abhishek Sharma's stats to that of Quinton de Kock after 17 T20Is.

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Abhishek Sharma's stats after 17 T20Is

The 24-year-old emerged on the scene after an excellent campaign with the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. Abhishek turned heads with his aggressive intent and amassed 484 runs in 16 matches at a strike rate of over 200.

His dream run in IPL 2024 earned him a call-up to India's T20I squad for the Zimbabwe tour last year. After getting out for a duck on his debut, Abhishek clobbered a 47-ball 100 to announce his arrival in T20I cricket.

Abhishek's high-risk high-reward game has often resulted in some underwhelming knocks as he got out cheaply thrice in the series against Bangladesh. However, he regained his form in the series against South Africa and his purple patch continued in the first T20I against England in Kolkata, where he smashed a quick-fire 79 to help the Men in Blue chase down 133 runs.

Overall, the left-hander has hammered 535 runs in 16 innings at an average of 33.43 and a strike rate of almost 200, including two hundreds and as many fifties.

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Quinton de Kock's stats after 17 T20Is

The Proteas wicketkeeper-batter's aggressive approach earned him comparisons with Adam Gilchrist early in his career. Quinton de Kock's international debut came in a T20I match against New Zealand in Durban, where he scored an unbeaten 28.

While he showed a lot of potential, De Kock took some time to find his footing in the international arena before flourishing. The left-hander scored only 42 runs in his next five T20I outings before scoring an unbeaten 48 against Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

De Kock scored a few more 40s in his first 17 T20I matches but couldn't really convert the starts into big knocks. He aggregated 363 runs in his first 17 T20Is at an average of 27.92, with a highest score of an unbeaten 48.

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Conclusion

Purely based on numbers, Abhishek Sharma has had much more impact at the top of the order than South Africa's Quinton de Kock early in his T20I career.