Abhishek Sharma hit 113 off 38 balls, with a century in 35, as India chased 199 in 13.2 overs to beat New Zealand by six wickets in Wellington. The win gives India an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match T20I series with two matches to play.
Wellington, New Zealand: India did not so much chase 199 at Hnry Stadium as demolish it. Abhishek Sharma and 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi opened with a stand of 133 in 7.1 overs, and by the end of the powerplay India were 118 without loss, the highest powerplay total in men’s T20I history. The rest was a procession towards a result that sealed the series with two games still to play.
A big total, and a bigger reply
Shreyas Iyer won the toss and, for the third match running, asked New Zealand to bat. The hosts made it count. Finn Allen struck 40 off 25 balls with five sixes before Nitish Kumar Reddy removed him, and Daryl Mitchell, who had come in at number three after Tim Seifert fell for 2 to Arshdeep Singh, was the anchor. Allen and Mitchell added 86 for the second wicket, and New Zealand reached the halfway mark at 100 for 2.
Glenn Phillips made 17 before Axar Patel removed him in the 12th over. Mitchell and Bevon Jacobs then added an unbroken 75 for the fourth wicket, Mitchell finishing on 89 off 52 balls and Jacobs on 39 off 23, to take New Zealand to 198 for 3. Arshdeep finished with 1 for 33 from his four overs, Axar took 1 for 36, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar went wicketless for 40.
118 for none
The chase was over as a contest almost before it began. India were 64 without loss after three overs, 84 after four and 104 after five, with their hundred arriving in just 30 balls. Jacob Duffy conceded 24 in his first over, which included a no-ball and five wides, and 18 in the sixth. Adam Milne and Michael Bracewell were hit for 17 and 21 respectively in their overs. By the end of the sixth, India had 118, beating the previous best powerplay score of 116 without loss, set by Romania against Serbia in 2021.
Sooryavanshi supplied much of the early violence, hitting four fours and four sixes in his 45 off 19 balls. He fell in the eighth over, caught by Mitchell running in from long-on off the recalled Matthew Fisher as he tried to clear the rope again, with India already on 133.
The 35-ball hundred
Abhishek went to 50 in 15 balls and to three figures in 35. Mitchell Santner dropped him at extra cover on 92, and he completed his century by hitting Kyle Jamieson to the fine-leg boundary. Jamieson had the last word, though, as Phillips took the catch near deep midwicket to end Abhishek’s innings after the tenth over, with India on 178 for 2. His 113 came from 38 balls, with nine fours and 11 sixes, a strike rate of 297.36.
Series sealed, Auckland next
Iyer, who made 5, was caught by Phillips off Santner, and Sanju Samson, on 18, was bowled by Jamieson, but India were never in danger. They finished on 199 for 4 in 13.2 overs, with 40 balls to spare. Jamieson took 2 wickets, while Fisher and Santner took one each, and none of the New Zealand bowlers conceded fewer than 12 an over. Abhishek was named Player of the Match.
The result follows India’s record 226 chase in the first T20I and their one-ball escape in the second, and it came without Ishan Kishan, who had been ruled out with an adductor strain. The series moves to Auckland on Friday, 30 October, and then to Hamilton on 1 November.
Result: India 199 for 4 in 13.2 overs (Abhishek Sharma 113 off 38, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 45 off 19; Kyle Jamieson 2 for 45) beat New Zealand 198 for 3 in 20 overs (Daryl Mitchell 89 off 52, Finn Allen 40 off 25, Bevon Jacobs 39 off 23) by six wickets. Player of the Match: Abhishek Sharma. Series: India lead the five-match series 3-0.
