England opener Phil Salt delivered a historic performance in the second T20I against South Africa at Old Trafford, Manchester, stunning cricket fans and leaving India’s Suryakumar Yadav behind in the record books. Salt hammered an unbeaten 141 runs off just 60 balls, blazing his way to England’s fastest T20I century in only 39 deliveries—a feat that shattered Liam Livingstone’s previous record of 42 balls set in 2021.

Salt’s innings was marked by pure boundary power: he accumulated 108 runs from just boundaries, smacking 15 fours and 8 sixes. This pushed him past his previous best of 88 boundary runs against West Indies in 2023 and also eclipsed Suryakumar Yadav’s achievements in this aspect. Alongside Jos Buttler, Salt shared a blistering 127-run opening partnership in a mere 47 balls, dousing South Africa’s hopes early in the contest. Together, they powered England to an unprecedented total of 304/2—the first time a Test-playing nation has crossed 300 in a T20I—and secured a record 146-run win.

Not only did Salt surpass individual milestones, but he equaled Suryakumar Yadav’s world record for four T20I centuries by achieving the mark in only 42 innings, compared to Suryakumar’s 80 innings. He now joins an elite club with Rohit Sharma and Glenn Maxwell—each with five T20I hundreds.

On a tough night for South Africa, pacer Kagiso Rabada conceded 70 runs in 4 overs, recording the most expensive bowling figures by a South African in T20Is. Salt’s incredible boundary-hitting and game-changing knock have established him as one of the most explosive openers in world cricket.