IND vs NZ: Abhishek Sharma joins elite list with entertaining knock, narrowly misses out on hundred
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IND vs NZ: Abhishek Sharma joins elite list with entertaining knock, narrowly misses out on hundred Photograph: (X/BCCI)
Playing at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium, Abhishek Sharma completed 5000 T20 runs and added another feather to his already impressive hat.
India’s Abhishek Sharma joined an elite group of batters on Wednesday (Jan 21) as he played an entertaining 84-run knock against New Zealand. Playing at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium, Abhishek completed 5000 T20 runs and added another feather to his already impressive hat. However, he was unfortunate to miss out on a hundred before being dismissed by Ish Sodhi.
Abhishek runs riot
In what was a brilliant 2025, Abhishek continued his form from where he left off and scored 84 runs in his first innings of 2026. His brilliant innings consisted of 8 sixes and 5 fours and was striking at 240, having smashed all his runs in 35 deliveries. Abhishek was given a good helping hand by skipper Suryakumar Yadav (32 off 22) while Hardik Pandya also smashed 25 off 16.
Most T20 runs for India
1. Virat Kohli – 13543 Runs in 414 matches
2. Rohit Sharma – 12248 Runs in 463 matches
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3. Shikhar Dhawan – 9797 Runs in 334 matches
4. Suryakumar Yadav – 8975 Runs in 346 matches
5. Suresh Raina – 8654 Runs in 336 matches
23. Abhishek Sharma – 5002 Runs in 168 matches
In the first T20I, India hammered 238/7 batting first, their 44th 200-plus score in T20I cricket. South Africa are second with eight 200-plus scores in the format, followed by Australia with seven and Sri Lanka with six.
India's 44th 200-plus score is also the most in T20 cricket, surpassing Somerset, who have notched up 40 200-plus totals in the shortest format.
Abhishek Sharma reached the landmark in 2988 deliveries, whereas all-rounder Andre Russell reached it in 2942 balls.
Additionally, a 22-ball fifty by Abhishek Sharma was also the quickest fifty in terms of balls faced for India against New Zealand in T20Is. The previous fastest was 23 balls each by KL Rahul (Auckland, 2020) & Rohit Sharma (Hamilton, 2020).
Coming to the match, a blistering knock by opener Abhishek and valuable contributions from Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh and captain Suryakumar Yadav helped Team India to post a daunting 238/7 runs in 20 overs against New Zealand in the first T20I.
Indian captain Suryakumar made 32 off 22 deliveries, including four boundaries and one six. Hardik scored 25 runs off 16 deliveries, including three fours and one six.
Towards the end, left-handed batter Rinku slammed an unbeaten 44 off 20 deliveries, including four boundaries and three sixes. With the ball, speedster Jacob Duffy (2/27) had good figures for New Zealand.
