Wellington, Opener Abhishek Sharma smashed a record-breaking 38-ball 113 to power India to a six-wicket victory over New Zealand in the third Twenty20 International at the Henry Stadium in Wellington on Tuesday, securing an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.

Chasing a target of 199, India overhauled the total in just 13.2 overs on the back of Abhishek’s fourth T20I century and an explosive 45 off 19 balls from promoted opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

Abhishek reached his century off just 35 deliveries, decorating his knock with nine boundary hits and 11 sixes. The century marked his 11th in overall T20 cricket, overtaking veteran batter Virat Kohli (10) to become the Indian player with the most centuries in the shortest format. Globally, he now holds the third-highest tally of T20 tons, trailing only Chris Gayle (22) and Babar Azam (13).

The Indian openers shattered multiple world records during their initial stand, helping the visitors post the highest-ever team score in a men’s T20I powerplay with 118 for no loss in the first six overs. The previous record was held by Romania, who scored 116 against Serbia in 2021.

India also brought up their team fifty in just 2.2 overs—the joint-fastest in T20I history alongside Romania and Papua New Guinea—and crossed the 100-run mark in five overs, registering the second-fastest team century worldwide behind Eswatini (4.5 overs).

New Zealand’s bowling attack, weakened by the absence of frontline pacers Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson, struggled to stall the runs. Medium-pacer Kyle Jamieson finished with figures of 2 for 45, removing both Sooryavanshi and Abhishek, while Matthew Fisher and skipper Mitchell Santner picked up a wicket each.

Despite late wickets, Tilak Varma (1 not out) and Naman Dhir (4 not out) completed the chase comfortably in the 14th over.

Earlier, opting to bat, New Zealand posted 198 for 3 in their 20 overs, anchored by Daryl Mitchell’s unbeaten career-best 89 off 52 balls and Finn Allen’s 40. The hosts reached 100 for 2 at the halfway mark, but India’s death-overs bowling restricted the Kiwis to just 63 runs in the final seven overs to keep the target under 200.

Brief Scores:

New Zealand: 198/3 in 20 overs (Daryl Mitchell 89*, Finn Allen 40; Arshdeep Singh 1-33, Axar Patel 1-36)

India: 199/4 in 13.2 overs (Abhishek Sharma 113, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 45; Kyle Jamieson 2-45, Mitchell Santner 1-17) by 6 wickets.