Abhishek Sharma Hits 113 Off 38 as India Beat New Zealand by Six Wickets to Seal T20I Series

Abhishek Sharma scored 113 off 38 balls as India beat New Zealand by six wickets in the third Twenty20 International at Wellington on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, reaching 199 for four in 13.2 overs with 40 balls to spare. The win gave India an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five match series, with two matches still to play.

India captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and chose to bowl first. New Zealand made 198 for three in their 20 overs, a total that looked competitive at the change of innings and then looked far too small once the Indian openers began.

Mitchell leads New Zealand to 198

Daryl Mitchell finished unbeaten on 89 off 52 balls, with five fours and five sixes. Finn Allen made 40 off 25 balls at the top of the order. Bevon Jacobs finished unbeaten on 39 off 23 balls, and Mitchell and Jacobs added an unbroken 75 runs for the fourth wicket to close the innings.

For India, Arshdeep Singh, Axar Patel and Nitish Kumar Reddy took one wicket each. The bowling figures kept New Zealand below 200, but the home side still had a total that has won many T20 matches at this level.

A record powerplay settles the chase early

Abhishek Sharma and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi added 133 for the first wicket in 7.1 overs. India scored 118 without loss in the six powerplay overs, the highest powerplay total in men's T20 Internationals. The previous highest overall powerplay total was Romania's 116 without loss. India also reached their team fifty in 2.2 overs, reported as the fastest team fifty in T20 Internationals.

Sooryavanshi made 45 off 19 balls, with four fours and four sixes, before he was caught by Daryl Mitchell off Matthew Fisher. Abhishek reached his hundred off 35 balls and finished with 113 off 38 balls, with nine fours and eleven sixes, at a strike rate of 297.37. He was named Player of the Match and ESPNcricinfo's Most Valuable Player.

The finish

Sanju Samson made 18 off 13 balls and Shreyas Iyer made 5 off 10 in the chase. Kyle Jamieson took two for 45 for New Zealand, while Mitchell Santner took one for 17 and Matthew Fisher one for 23.

India reached the target in the 14th over, one of the fastest successful chases of a total close to 200 in the format. Reports from lower quality outlets disagreed on a separate team hundred record for this innings, so that claim is not published here. The agreed records are the powerplay total and the fastest team fifty, each reported by two outlets.

The series continues with two matches left and the result already settled. New Zealand play for pride and for places, while India can rotate their side with the series won.