WELLINGTON : Abhishek Sharma smashed a 35-ball century as India demolished New Zealand by six wickets in the third Twenty20 international on Tuesday, sealing the five-match series with two games to spare.
The left-handed opener hammered 113 off 38 balls to help India chase down New Zealand’s 198 in just 13.2 overs, threatening to surpass his record 30-ball century against Afghanistan last month, the fastest by a batter from a full-member nation in men’s T20 internationals.
Abhishek’s explosive innings also helped India rewrite the record books as he combined with 15-year-old sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to plunder 118 runs in the powerplay, surpassing the previous mark of 116 set by Romania against Serbia in 2021.
“That was the plan for us. Just get the momentum for the team and keep going,” man-of-the-match Abhishek said.
The opening pair put on 133 runs before Sooryavanshi, promoted up the order, fell for 45 when he was caught at long-on attempting to hit recalled New Zealand fast bowler Matthew Fisher over his head.
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner then dropped Abhishek on 92 at extra cover, struggling to judge the ball in Wellington’s swirling wind.
Abhishek soon brought up his century by hitting Kyle Jamieson to the fine-leg boundary, celebrating with a meditation pose popularised by footballer Erling Haaland.
Jamieson eventually dismissed the opener, with Glenn Phillips taking the catch near deep midwicket after Abhishek miscued another big hit.
Earlier, New Zealand, sent in to bat for the third consecutive match after losing the toss, posted 198, with Daryl Mitchell top-scoring with an unbeaten 89.
The hosts’ bowlers struggled to contain India’s aggressive opening assault, leaving New Zealand with little time to recover before the fourth match in Auckland on Friday.
“Pretty tough to stop those guys when they’re going. We’ve seen it before, seen it in the IPL and obviously witnessed it here tonight in New Zealand,” Santner said.
