Abhishek Sharma and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi power India to 118-run powerplay record
Abhishek Sharma's 35-ball century and a record 118-run powerplay carried India to a six-wicket win and a 3-0 series lead.
Abhishek Sharma tore through New Zealand's attack in Wellington on Tuesday, finishing with 113 off 38 balls as India chased down 199 in 13.2 overs to win by six wickets. He reached fifty in 15 balls, his hundred in 35, and cleared the rope eleven times. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi kept pace at the other end, scoring 45 off 19, and their 133-run opening stand set up the platform.
India's 118 without loss in the first six overs broke the men's T20I record for a powerplay, beating Romania's 116 from 2021. They were past 100 inside five overs, the second-fastest team hundred by a full-member side. New Zealand had posted 198 for three, Daryl Mitchell finishing unbeaten on 89.
The win gave India an unassailable 3-0 lead with two games left. Abhishek now has eleven T20I hundreds, moving past Virat Kohli as India's most prolific centurion in the format.
CricHubb Take
Abhishek's form has solved a long-standing India T20 problem: who opens against pace. With two left-handers now clearing the rope from ball one, the powerplay has become India's weapon rather than a phase they survive.