New Zealand vs India, 3rd T20I: Abhishek Sharma's 113 From 38 Wins the Series

Updated: 31 October 2026 · Author: Cricket Match Scorecard Editorial

New Zealand made 198/3 at Sky Stadium in Wellington on 27 October 2026, a total that normally wins a T20 International. India needed only 13.2 overs to chase it, with 40 balls to spare, and took a 3-0 lead in the five-match series. It was one of those games where the scorecard is hard to believe even when it is in front of you.

A solid New Zealand total

India again chose to bowl first. Daryl Mitchell led the way with 89 not out from 52 balls, while Finn Allen's 40 from 25 included five sixes and no fours. Bevon Jacobs supported with an unbeaten 39 from 23. India took only three wickets, and at the halfway stage, nothing about the match suggested what was coming.

Arshdeep Singh's four overs cost 33, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Prince Yadav each went for at least 40 without a wicket.

The chase: a stand of 133

Abhishek Sharma and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's opening stand effectively won the game. They added 133 before the first wicket fell, in barely seven overs, and Sooryavanshi made 45 from 19 with four fours and four sixes.

Abhishek's innings was the headline. He scored 113 from 38 balls with nine fours and 11 sixes, meaning 102 of his runs came in boundaries. His strike rate was nearly 300. By the time he was out at 178 at the end of the 10th over, India needed only 21 more from 60 balls.

The numbers behind it

• Run rate: India scored at about 14.9 runs per over across the innings. New Zealand's 198 was at 9.9.
• New Zealand's bowling: Jacob Duffy conceded 44 runs from just two overs, Adam Milne 33 from two, and Matthew Fisher 23 from one.
• The exception: Mitchell Santner gave up just 17 from three overs, the only New Zealand bowler to go for less than 11 an over.

There was a small wobble at the end as Shreyas Iyer and Sanju Samson fell in quick succession, but with so few runs needed, it hardly mattered. Naman Dhir finished the match with a four.

What it means

Abhishek was named player of the match, and India had won the series with two games still to play. For New Zealand, the result was a harsh lesson that a score of about 200 can no longer be treated as safe against this batting line-up. They did respond strongly in the next match, as our fourth T20I report explains.