Anmolpreet Singh creates Indian record for fastest List A ton; only behind Fraser-McGurk, de Villiers in all-time list

Punjab batter Anmolpreet Singh made history with a blitzkrieg of an innings against Arunachal Pradesh in the Vijay Hazare Trophy opener for both teams, scoring 115 off just 45 deliveries having brought up his century in 35 deliveries to become the fastest-ever Indian centurion in a List A game by overtaking a record previously held by Yusuf Pathan.

Set to chase 165 after a strong bowling performance, Anmolpreet came in at number three after the early dismissal of Punjab captain Abhishek Sharma, who couldn’t quite get going on the day. His innings in combination with a brisk 35 off 25 from Prabhsimran Singh helped Punjab to a winning start at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

It was carnage from ball one off Anmolpreet’s bat, as he rampaged his way to a century in 35 balls. Only two players have scored faster centuries in the 50-over format in List A games, Australian Jake Fraser-McGurk from when he thumped a century in a scarcely-believable 29 deliveries for South Australia against Tasmania, and AB de Villiers, who scored a memorable 31-ball century against the West Indies in Johannesburg.

Anmolpreet, who failed to garner any attention from IPL franchises as he went unsold in the IPL 2025 auction, notified the owners that they had made a mistake. In an innings which included twelve fours and nine maximums, he helped Punjab haul down the target set by Arunachal in just 77 deliveries. He breaks a record that has stood for 15 years, when Yusuf Pathan had flayed a 40-ball century for Baroda in a match against Maharashtra.

Winning start for Punjab in VHT

While Anmolpreet didn’t show any bias in terms of the bowlers he targeted, he made sure it was an afternoon to forget for all-rounder Techi Neri, taking his sole over of bowling for a huge 31 runs. The only consolation for Arunachal’s bowlers was that the match was over quickly after their bowling powerplay.

Elsewhere in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Shreyas Iyer had also scored a rapid century while captaining Mumbai, taking only 55 deliveries for an unbeaten 114* in the first innings against Karnataka at the Narendra Modi Stadium B Ground earlier in the day.