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Abhishek’s carnage powers India to series triumph
In Short
Abhishek was on an absolute rampage as he slammed his fourth T20I century, finishing unbeaten on 113 off 38 balls to help India chase down the 199-run target in just 13.2 overs with six wickets in hand. The victory gave India an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.
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Abhishek’s carnage powers India to series triumph
Wellington: Abhishek Sharma’s record-breaking show powered India to a series-sealing win over New Zealand in the third T20I at Hnry Stadium in Wellington on Tuesday.
Abhishek was on an absolute rampage as he slammed his fourth T20I century, finishing unbeaten on 113 off 38 balls to help India chase down the 199-run target in just 13.2 overs with six wickets in hand. The victory gave India an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.
Apart from his fourth T20I century, this was Abhishek’s 11th T20 ton, the most by an Indian player in the shortest format. He went past Indian veteran Virat Kohli, who has scored 10 centuries in T20 cricket.
Abhishek now occupies third place among players with the most T20 centuries, behind Chris Gayle (22) and Babar Azam (13).
While Abhishek produced another jaw-dropping knock, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, promoted to the opening role, also impressed with 45 off 19 deliveries as record books tumbled and New Zealand’s bowlers bore the brunt of India’s batting assault.
The opening pair smashed 118 without loss in the powerplay, setting a new record for the highest team total in the first six overs of a men’s T20I, surpassing Romania’s 116 against Serbia in 2021. India also reached 100 in just five overs, the second-fastest team century in T20 cricket.
The Men in Blue raced to their fifty in just 2.2 overs, equalling the world record. New Zealand’s depleted attack struggled, with Kyle Jamieson taking two wickets, while Matthew Fisher and captain Mitchell Santner claimed one each.
Earlier, Daryl Mitchell’s career-best 89 not out off 52 balls guided New Zealand to 198/3. Bevon Jacobs contributed 39 off 23 deliveries, but India’s bowlers restricted the hosts to 63 runs in the final seven overs with disciplined death bowling.
Despite late wickets, Tilak Varma and Naman Dhir completed the chase in the 14th over, sealing India’s emphatic six-wicket victory and the series with two matches remaining.
Brief Scores:
New Zealand 198/3 (Daryl Mitchell 89*, Finn Allen 40; Arshdeep Singh 1-33, Axar Patel 1-36) lost to India (Abhishek Sharma 113, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 45; Kyle Jamieson 2-45, Mitchell Santner 1-17) by six wickets.
