Former India left-arm spinner SL Venkatapathy Raju felt “pity for some of the bowlers” while watching Abhishek Sharma’s brutal hitting at the Gymkhana Ground here on Sunday.

The Punjab left-hander produced one of the most savage knocks in Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 (SMAT) history, smashing a 12-ball 50 (5x4, 5x6) before racing away to a 32-ball 100 (7x4, 11x6) in a massive 112-run win over Bengal. The aggressive Abhishek was eventually out for a 52-ball 148 (8x4, 16x6) as Punjab posted 310-5, the second-highest score in the history of the competition. Baroda hold the record for the highest score in SMAT — 349 against Sikkim.