After a gap of more than a decade, West Indies' power-hitter Kieron Pollard will make his way back into county cricket. The West Indies white ball legend has signed with Surrey for the T20 Blast 2022. Meanwhile, he will be seen teaming up with fellow countryman Sunil Narine. They formerly played for their national team West Indies. Moreover, they have also played together in franchise T20 leagues like Dhaka Dynamites in the Bangladesh Premier League, and Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League.

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Several counties had approached Pollard after his international retirement for playing the T20 Blast. Meanwhile, Surrey was being the front-runner in this race. Sean Abbott's involvement in Australia's tour of Sri Lanka caused him to withdraw out of his commitment.

"It has been quite some time since I've played county cricket and I'm thrilled to be returning to the Vitality Blast competition in Surrey colors this year. The Kia Oval is a special place to play, especially in front of a full house. This Surrey side is full of talent and should certainly be mounting a challenge for the title. I hope that my experience will add a vital ingredient to the club's success this year."

Kieron Pollard said in a Surrey press release

Kieron Pollard is set to make his Surrey debut against Gloucestershire at the Kia Oval on May 31. The Surrey team announced the signing of Pollard on Friday. Pollard last played county cricket for Somerset in 2011, when his side was defeated in the final by Leicestershire. He was slated to play for Northamptonshire in 2020, but his contract was terminated owing to the Covid-19 epidemic.

His all-round ability will make a significant difference to the depth of the squad: Surrey Director

"We're very pleased to bring Kieron to the club. He brings an incredible range of skills as well as experience at the very highest level of the sport. His all-round ability will make a significant difference to the depth of the squad."

said Alec Stewart, Surrey's director of cricket

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Surrey has not won a single title since the inception of the tournament in 2003. Moreover, they also did not qualify for the knockouts last season. However, they are among the favorites to win it this year. The team will be missing some major players in the league. They will miss Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes, Jason Roy, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, and Reece Topley. All of them will be with their national teams, but the addition of Pollard and Narine has reduced their tension.

Indian team batsman Abhishek Sharma performed brilliantly in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and scored a century in just 28 balls against Meghalaya. With this, Abhishek has jointly become the second batsman to score the fastest century in the T20 format. in this article, we will discuss the fastest hundreds in T20s.

Also Read: Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Shreyas Gopal gets hat-trick against Baroda; enters list of elites with most T20 hat-tricks

Fastest Hundreds in T20s

1# Sahil Chauhan (2024) | 27 Balls

Sahil Chauhan of Estonia holds the record of fastest hundreds in T20s. Chauhan scored a century against Cyprus in just 27 balls in the year 2024. In this match, Sahil had scored unbeaten 144 runs in 41 balls with the help of 6 fours and 18 sixes. His strike rate was 351.21. Sahil Chauhan had created a world record by playing this historic innings in the second innings.

2# 𝗔𝗯𝗵𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗸 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗮 (2024) | 28 Balls

Indian Cricket Team batter Abhishek Sharma smashed a 28-ball century featuring for Punjab against Meghalaya. Sharma joined Urvil Patel to hit the joint fastest hundreds in T20s. The southpaw amassed 106 (29), which featured eight fours and eleven sixes. With 11 sixes against Meghalaya, Abhishek also broke Suryakumar Yadav's record for most sixes in a calendar year by an Asian batter in T20s. Sharma has 87 sixes, two more than SKY. 

3# Urvil Patel (2024) | 28 Balls

While playing for Gujarat in Syed Mushtaq Trophy 2024 against Tripura, Urvil Patel has done a wonderful job by scoring a century in 28 balls in T-20. Urvil has become the batsman to score the joined fastest century in T-20 for India. The right-handed batter made an unbeaten 113 off 35 balls with seven fours and 12 sixes.

4# Chris Gayle (2013) | 30 Balls

West Indies batsman Chris Gayle, while playing for the RCB team in 2013, made a record of scoring a century on only 30 balls in the IPL match against Pune Warriors and finished on 175 not out. Gayle also holds the record of hitting fastest century in Indian Premier League. Gayle blasted 17 sixes and 13 fours off just 66 deliveries.

5# Rishabh Pant (2018) | 32 Balls

Indian team's wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant, while playing for Delhi in the Syed Mushtaq Trophy in 2018, scored a century in only 32 balls in the match against Himachal Pradesh. Pant is now the fifth fastest batsman to score fastest hundreds in T20s. He finished with an unbeaten 38-ball 116. Pant made 104 of his runs in boundaries with 12 sixes and eight fours.

Karnataka all-rounder Shreyas Gopal grabbed a stunning hat-trick against Baroda in the 2024 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy to enter a respectable list of legendary players. Playing for Karnataka, the leg-spinning all-rounder dismissed star Baroda cricketers such as Hardik Pandya, and Krunal Pandya for golden ducks. 

Gopal dismissed Shashwat Rawat who scored a scorching 63 off 37 balls to pick up the momentum for the Karnataka team. Following that, Gopal also dismissed star Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya on a golden duck. Hardik's brother Krunal Pandya, who is also the captain of Baroda, faced the same fate as he returned to the pavilion with a golden duck by his name. 

Triple Treat 👌👌👌

🔟.1⃣ - Shashwat Rawat
🔟.2⃣- Hardik Pandya
🔟.3⃣ - Krunal Pandya

Re-live Shreyas Gopal's brilliant hat-trick against Baroda in Indore 🎥 🔽

That catch on the hat-trick ball 🔥#SMAT | @IDFCFIRSTBank

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/VizwmvftQI pic.twitter.com/RxSHIVyqy5

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) December 3, 2024

Gopal's sensational hat-trick has undoubtedly excited CSK fans, who are eagerly counting down to see his impact in the upcoming IPL season. CSK secured his services for a base price of 30 lakhs in the recent Mega Auction for IPL 2025. 

However, the 31-year-old all-rounder has entered the globe of cricketing stars after registering his third career T20 hat-trick. He is now positioned third in the list of most hat-tricks in T20 cricket. 

Shreyas Gopal is in the form of his life after being picked by CSK.

2-30(4) vs Ukhand
1-26(4) vs Tri
1-23(4) vs Sau
5-13(4) vs Sik
1-14(4) vs TN
4-19(4) vs Bar (hattrick)

Leading wicket taker:
14 wkts at 8.9, Eco 5.2, SR 10.2

Outrageous numbers in a high scoring SMAT season! pic.twitter.com/YCtBk3uvUm

— Srini Mama (@SriniMaama16) December 3, 2024

Shreyas Gopal recorded his first T20 hat-trick in Karnataka's face-off against Haryana in the 2019 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy when he picked up the three wickets of Navdeep Saini, Jayant Yadav and Amit Mishra. His second came in the same year while playing for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, as he dismissed Virat Kohli, AB De Villiers, and Marcus Stoinis. After almost 5 years, now he has grabbed his third. 

Shreyas Gopal shines with a stunning hat-trick against Baroda, dismissing Shashwat Rawat, Krunal, and Hardik Pandya! 🔥🙌

Recently picked up by CSK for ₹30 lakhs at the IPL Auction 2025, he's ready to make an impact! 💛#ShreyasGopal #CSK #IPL2025 #Cricket #RashidKhan #cricket pic.twitter.com/sP0tiG5vrZ

— Sportz Point (@sportz_point) December 4, 2024

Most hat-tricks in T20 Cricket

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the Indian pacer who last played for the Indian team in 2022, recently became the first Indian pacer to take more than 300 T20 wickets during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Tournament 2024. Captaining the Uttar Pradesh team, the medium pacer showcased even at his age, how he can be good with the ball in hand. In the UP vs Himachal Pradesh match, he claimed his 300 T20 wicket. 

Indian bowlers with most T20 wickets

As Bhuvneshwar Kumar became the first Indian pacer to achieve feat, we will give the list of Indian bowlers with most T20 wickets. 

4. Bhuvneshwar Kumar | 304 T20 wickets

The 35-year-old medium pacer has been one of the highest wicket-takers for India in T20I cricket. In T20 internationals for India, Bhuvnewshwar Kumar has taken 90 wickets in 87 T20I matches at an outstanding economy rate of 6.96, including two five-wicket hauls. 

In Indian Premier League, while playing for Pune Warriors and Sunrisers Hyderabad, Buvi has taken 181 wickets in 176 matches at an excellent economy rate of 7.56 runs per over. In total, Bhuvneshwar so far has taken 304 wickets in T20 cricket in 290 matches at 7.29 runs per over.

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He stands as the fourth highest wicket-taker among Indians in T20 cricket and is the only Indian fast bowler to take more than 300 wickets in shortest format of the game.

3. Ravichandran Ashwin | 310 T20 Wickets

A test legend in his own rights, Ravichandran Ashwin had started his career with the T20s. It was Chennai Super Kings who had found the spark in him which helped him gain the exposure to evantually get selected for India and flourish as an all-format bowler. The off-spinner from Tamil Nadu has played 324 T20 games so far in his career and took 324 wickets at an astonishing economoy rate of 7.06. 

In IPL, he has played for teams like CSK, Kings XI Punjab, Rajasthan Royals, Rising Pune Supergiants and Delhi Capitals along with playing for the Indian team and Tamil Nadu in his career. In his 212 IPL games, he has taken 180 wickets at 7.12 runs per over. For India, in T20Is, Ashwin has the off-spinner took 72 wickets in only 65 games. 

2. Piyush Chawla | 319 T20 Wickets

The leg spinner has been playing T20s since 2007 and has played a total 297 T20 matches so far in his career. In his career, he has taken 319 T20 wickets with an economy rate of 7.53. However, he only played 7 T20 internationals for India and took only 4 wickets for the country.

In the Indian Premier League, he has featured in 192 games for Chennai Super Kings, Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians. Chawla has been one of the most successful bowlers in the tournament with 192 wickets with an economy rate of 7.96 runs per over.

Moreover, he has played for overseas teams like Sussex in Vitality Blast Tournament in England. 

1. Yuzvendra Chahal | 363 T20 Wickets

Yuzvendra Chahal is perhaps the most Indian successful bowlers in the shortest format of the game. The leg-spinner from Haryana started his career with IPL teams like Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore and made a name for yourself to get into the Indian team.

Chahal spent eight seasons with Royal Challengers Bangalore and with 113 wickets, is still their highest wicket-taker in Indian Premier League history. However, RCB decided not to retain him in the 2022 mega auction, and Chahal headed to Rajasthan Royals. 

In IPL 2025 Mega acution, he became the most expensive spinner in the tournament's history as Punjab Kings bought him for INR 18 cr. Till now, in IPL, Chahal has taken 205 wickets, and is the most successful bowler in the tournament's history. For India, he has played 80 T20I games and once was the highest wicket-taker for India in T20Is with 96 wickets.

Last night, Hardik Pandya finished off in style. He smashed a short ball from Taskin Ahmed over the mid-wicket to win the game with 49 balls to go and 7 wickets in hand. He overtook Virat Kohli's record of winning matches by hitting a six.

Earlier, Virat Kohli similarly ended the matches, four times, in T-20 cricket. With Hardik hitting the six last night, his count rose to 5.

Swagger Pandya

The all-rounder stood at 39, not out after 16 balls. His inning included five fours and two sixes, with a strike rate of 243.75.

His no-look ramp shot over the wicketkeeper’s head defined his aura and calmness on the field. The 128-run target didn't look as appealing as his confidence during the shot.

𝘿𝙊 𝙉𝙊𝙏 𝙈𝙄𝙎𝙎!

The shot. The reaction. The result ➡️ EPIC 😎

WATCH 🎥🔽 #TeamIndia | #INDvBAN | @hardikpandya7 | @IDFCFIRSTBank https://t.co/mvJvIuqm2B

— BCCI (@BCCI) October 6, 2024

Pandya had a good run with the ball too. He took one wicket, giving 26 runs in four overs, with a decent economy of 6.50.

Bowling records

There was a time when "instructions" came for him to bowl regularly. The medium-pacer version of Hardik Pandya is now the fourth-leading wicket-taker in T20I cricket. He has 87 wickets, overtaking Arshdeep Singh. The later has 86 wickets to his name.

Yuzvendra Chahal, however, tops the list with 96 wickets in T-20 Internationals.

It has been a long wait of 17 years to finally see Gwalior hosting their international match! Located on the outskirts of the historic city, Shrimant Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium will make its debut in the international circuit, with its newly built look. the brand new stadium will host the first T-20I match against Bangladesh today, 6th October. Presently it has a capacity of 30,000, but with the completion of phase 2, the seat count will increase visibly to 55,000.

The venue got its name from the former BCCI president, the late Madhavrao Scindia, and took a solid 7 years to get in shape. A decent seating capacity,  indoor training spaces, and modern media arrangements with scenic beauty still have a drawback of drainage, which the stadium authorities are still working on. Once done, it can easily stand out as one of the steady rivals to many stadiums in India.

The stadium, however, maintains a safe distance from the hustle and bustle of the main city. Yet the distance is not enough to reach the fans, thanks to their love for the sport. The Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) is confident about the stadium hosting many international matches, including Tests, in the near future.

A stadium with scenic blessings

The Shrimant Madhavrao Scindia Stadium rests gently in the nest of Chambal Hills. The stunning backdrop will aid the seconds and minutes of boredom that may wave at the fans in the middle of any match. 

The stadium venue is technically located near the Mumbai-Agra highway bypass. This gives an added advantage to the fans even while driving towards the stadium. The beauty of the road and the stadium adorn, and complement the game in a way, beyond words. The wide-open spaces and panoramic views of the hills add charm to it, making it picture-perfect for a floodlight-studded day-night match.

The unmatched craze of fans

Amidst all these, the X-factor that boosts the confidence is the fans' craze. Recently, during the Madhya Pradesh Premier League final, the air was filled with cheers and roars! The excitement was unmatched, but there may be some closer to that in the Eden Gardens or the Wankhade Stadium. Thousands of fans gathered both inside and outside the glove. A state league had just given a glimpse of the craze in Gwalior.

The decibels touch the topmost limit with the roars, completely ignoring the regular quietness of the stadium.

The first T-20 match against Bangladesh, won't fall short of any hype and craze from the fans.

Captain Roop Singh Stadium: A Nostalgia that hits deep

The Captain Roop Singh Stadium—the stadium where "God" Sachin Tendulkar scripted history by scoring his first-ever ODI double century in 2010. Unfortunately, that was the last ever international match the stadium hosted. For locals, the memories have been etched deep in their minds, making the stadium an important point on the map. 

Other notable matches hosted by the stadium

• India-West Indies match in the 1996 World Cup,
• The fourth India-Pakistan ODI in 2007, 
• India's win against Australia in the TVS Cup months after their 2003 World Cup final defeat to the same opposition, 
• Kenya's first win over India in an international match, and
• Two ODIs against England in 1993 on consecutive days. 
• The 1997 Ranji Trophy final was also held in this stadium, the only day-night Ranji Trophy final to date.

Key Stats from the Madhya Pradesh T20 League

Although the T-20I will be the inaugural international match, the venue has hosted 12 matches in the Madhya Pradesh T20 League. Statistics are saying that the average first-inning total was 171.

The teams breached the 200-run mark two times in the league. In one of the matches, a team scored 278 runs in the first inning. While chasing, the opponent scored 239 runs.

A New Era for Gwalior Cricket Begins

The state already had the Holkar Stadium in the middle, where the life of the state exists. The Shrimant Madhavrao Scindia Stadium will add glory and definitely some finance to the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MCPA).

With the modern facilities harmonized with the panoramic view of Chambal Hills, the board is confident to attract big matches to this venue. 

The Bangladesh match looks like a good start; however, the officials are aiming for Test matches. 

The MPCA and local officials have put significant effort and money into the setup. With the completion of phase two, the drainage system will be better. And a modern dressing room and other facilities will be added.

The new avatar of Captain Roop Singh Stadium hopefully will grow big and strong enough to relinquish the legacies and memories of the past days.