NEW DELHI: CSK batter Urvil Patel recorded the second-fastest T20 century by an Indian in Gujarat’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2025 match against Services at Hyderabad’s Gymkhana Ground on Wednesday, showcasing flamboyance of the highest order. Urvil smashed an unbeaten 119 off 37 balls in an explosive innings, hitting 12 fours and 10 sixes at a strike rate of 321.62. Interestingly, the wicket-keeper batter had registered the joint-fastest T20 century by an Indian just a year back, registering a 28-ball ton against Tripura on November 27. Urvil shares the record for the joint-fastest ton with Abhishek Sharma who had smashed a 28-ball century against Meghalaya in SMAT back in December 2024. Rishabh Pant earlier held the unique distinction of being India’s second fastest T20 centurion following his 32-ball ton against Himachal Pradesh in January 2018, but has now been pushed to the third spot following Urvil’s onslaught. The wicket-keeper batter has further recorded the highest individual score by a Gujarat batter in T20s. Urvil’s father Mukesh Patel expressed immense happiness following his son’s majestic knock, expressing a desire to see him fast-tracked to the national team.
“I wasn’t following the scores of the match as I usually don’t watch his games. However, it fills me with great pride to see Urvil doing so well and recording such a majestic feat. It is time for him to be fast-tracked into the Indian T20I setup considering such quality performances. He is well deserving,” said Mukesh during an exclusive interaction with TimesofIndia.com.Gujarat defeated Services by eight wickets, chasing down the 183-run target in 12.3 overs following a 174-run opening partnership between Urvil and Aarya Desai (60 off 35 balls, 6 fours and 3 sixes). Aarya provided quality support, smashing the ball fearlessly at an excellent strike rate of 171.42.“Urvil and I know each other quite well. We have been opening the innings since the U-25 level and have recorded multiple hundred-run partnerships, enjoying great clarity over each other’s strengths and weaknesses. We were high on confidence before the match due to Gujarat’s two consecutive wins in the previous games and kept chatting about playing positive cricket,” said Aarya.“The ultimate focus was on targeting the bowlers and not allowing them to settle. We got 8 runs in the opening over followed by 18 runs in the second over which helped in generating quality momentum, allowing us to bat freely from then on,” he added. Gujarat will face Bengal in their next match on Friday.
