Sakibul Gani Smashes Fastest List A Century by an Indian, Kishan Close Behind

The opening day of the 2025–26 Vijay Hazare Trophy produced an extraordinary burst of record-breaking batting, as Sakibul Gani and Ishan Kishan rewrote the history books with lightning-fast centuries across two venues on Wednesday.

Gani set a new benchmark by scoring the fastest men’s List A century by an Indian, reaching the milestone in just 32 balls for Bihar against Arunachal Pradesh in a Plate League fixture in Ranchi. Minutes later in Ahmedabad, Ishan Kishan followed with a 33-ball hundred for Jharkhand against Karnataka, claiming second place on the all-time Indian list.

The remarkable feats came on a day already headlined by Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s stunning 190 off 84 balls, which itself included a 36-ball century. As a result, three of the four fastest List A centuries by Indians were recorded on the same day, albeit at different venues. Only Jake Fraser-McGurk and AB de Villiers have scored faster centuries in the format worldwide than Gani’s 32-ball effort.

Gani’s innings powered Bihar to a staggering 574 against Arunachal Pradesh, as he etched his name into the record books with a breathtaking display of power hitting in Ranchi.

In Ahmedabad, Kishan carried his red-hot form from the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy into Jharkhand’s Vijay Hazare Trophy opener. Just a week after scoring a match-winning century in the T20 final and finishing as the tournament’s leading run-scorer, Kishan produced another blistering knock, smashing 125 off just 39 balls.

Walking in at No. 6 in the 38th over after the fall of Kumar Kushagra’s wicket, Kishan raced to his half-century in 20 balls. He then went into overdrive, hammering seven sixes and two fours off his next 13 deliveries to bring up his century. His innings included seven fours and 14 sixes and propelled Jharkhand to a mammoth 412 for 8 after Karnataka opted to field.

Kishan’s resurgence comes after forcing his way back into India’s T20I squad for the New Zealand series and the upcoming T20 World Cup. Reflecting on his motivation after Jharkhand’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy triumph last week, Kishan said, “When I was not selected in the Indian team, I felt quite bad because I was doing well. But I told myself that if I am not selected with this sort of performance, then maybe I have to do more.”

Kishan finished the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy with 517 runs, becoming only the second player to score a century in a final, and struck a tournament-high 33 sixes.

With explosive batting displays across Ranchi and Ahmedabad, the Vijay Hazare Trophy began with a historic flourish, underlining the depth of India’s white-ball talent and setting the tone for a memorable domestic season.