In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy today, Amit Pasi of Baroda scored an explosive 114 runs from just 55 balls against Services in Hyderabad. This incredible knock marks his debut in recognised men’s T20 cricket, and is jointly the highest-ever score for a debutant in this format.
In Baroda’s 13-run victory over Services, Pasi hit 10 fours and 9 sixes, making 94 of his 114 runs solely from boundaries.
Pasi’s performance has equalled the record of Pakistan’s Bilal Asif. In 2015, Bilal played a similar knock of 114 runs from 48 balls in the Super Eight T20 Cup, playing for Sialkot Stallions against Abbottabad Falcons. Bilal, who has played 5 Tests and 3 ODIs for Pakistan, achieved his century after reaching 50 off 34 balls and then 100 off 43 balls.
Pasi completed his century with a six on his 44th ball. He reached his half-century in just 24 balls. Amit replaced Jitesh Sharma in Baroda’s XI after Sharma was called up to the national team for India’s T20 series against South Africa.
Amit Pasi with Hardik Pandya
Amit Pasi’s social media handle
Amit became the third Indian batsman to score a century on debut in T20 cricket, after Akshat Reddy of Hyderabad in 2010 and Shubman Vambri of Punjab in 2019. Interestingly, all three debut centuries have come in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.