Abhishek Sharma’s 113 fires India to T20I series win against New Zealand in Wellington

There is nothing the Indian men’s T20I team can do wrong in the ongoing series against New Zealand. Riding on Abhishek Sharma’s record 113 and a blistering 45 off just 19 balls from Vaibhav Sooryavanshi at the top, India completed a hat-trick of successful run chases in the 3rd T20I to crush the hosts by six wickets and win the five-match series 3-0. Chasing 199 on what appeared to be a dicey wicket to bat on, the management’s gamble of promoting Vaibhav to open alongside Abhishek paid off as the two added 133 runs for the first wicket in a record-breaking partnership.

After winning the toss and electing to field first for the third time in a row in this series, opening bowler Arshdeep Singh removed Tim Seifert in his first over for two. Finn Allen and Daryl Mitchell revived New Zealand’s innings and added 86 for the second wicket, with Allen accelerating the run rate. Nitish Reddy dismissed the Kiwi opener on 40 off 25 balls, which included five sixes.

Short of runs so far in this series, Mitchell found his mojo and kept smashing bad balls for boundaries. A 43-run stand for the third wicket with Glenn Phillips kept India under pressure before Axar Patel released it by sending the in-form Phillips back to the pavilion. Bevon Jacobs and Mitchell remained unbeaten till the end and helped New Zealand post a challenging 198/3 in the first innings.

Highest Powerplay Score in T20Is

India made a clinical top-order change, replacing Sanju Samson with Sooryavanshi. The two destructive openers began the onslaught from the word go, hitting 26 runs in Jacob Duffy’s first over – a record for the most runs scored in the first over of a T20I game by a Test-playing nation. That over, however, set the tone as the two further broke the record for the highest powerplay score in T20Is by registering 118 for zero.

Also read| IND vs NZ 3rd T20I: Abhishek, Sooryavanshi shatter all-time powerplay record in explosive run-chase

While Abhishek completed his fifty in the meantime in 15 balls, Sooryavanshi looked confident, whacking balls to all parts of the ground. Matthew Fisher broke the opening partnership by dismissing the teen prodigy five shy of his third T20I fifty. He, however, conceded 23 runs in the only over he bowled in the game.

Although Abhishek kept going about his business and was even close to breaking his record for the fastest T20I hundred, tight bowling from Kiwi skipper Mitchell Santner and others restricted him. But not for long, as he eventually completed his 11th T20 hundred in 35 balls, equalling Rohit Sharma’s tally and the joint-second fastest for an Indian.

He departed soon after on 113 off just 38 balls, hitting 11 sixes and nine fours at a strike rate of 297.37. India lost their captain, Shreyas Iyer and Sanju Samson before completing the target in the 14th over with six wickets remaining.

India and New Zealand will face off in the 4th T20I at Eden Park in Auckland on Friday (Oct 30).