Chasing 199, India’s Abhishek Sharma tore into the New Zealand bowling. The left-handed opener set record after record with a blistering 113 off just 38 balls, and with Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s quickfire innings India won by eight wickets with 40 balls to spare.
The win gives India an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the five-match T20 series with two games left. Batting first in the third match, New Zealand made 198 for 3. In reply India took control of the game in the powerplay.
Abhishek attacked from the start. Bewildering the Kiwi bowlers with a shower of fours and sixes, he reached his hundred in just 35 balls, and was out for 113 off 38 balls with nine fours and 11 sixes. Nineteen-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi kept pace with him, scoring 45 off just 19 balls.
India’s innings opened in record fashion. They reached 50 in just 2.2 overs, equalling the record for the fastest team fifty in men’s T20 internationals. They passed 100 in only five overs and ended the powerplay on 118 without loss, the highest powerplay total in T20 internationals by a full-member nation.
Abhishek’s hundred is another entry in the record books. His 35-ball century adds to his own list of the fastest T20 international hundreds for India; last month he scored a 30-ball century against Afghanistan. He also shares second place among India’s fastest hundreds with Rohit Sharma.
It is Abhishek’s fourth T20 international century. Only Rohit Sharma and Glenn Maxwell, with five each, have more in the format. Across all recognised T20 cricket, Abhishek now has 11 hundreds, behind only Babar Azam’s 13 and Chris Gayle’s 22.
Earlier, after losing the toss, New Zealand were given a big total by Daryl Mitchell, who made 89 not out off 52 balls. Finn Allen scored 40 off 19 balls and Bevon Jacobs 39 off 23. But their 198 was not enough against India’s extraordinary batting.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report