Abhishek Sharma’s 35-ball ton seals T20I series for India

Abhishek Sharma struck a century off 35 balls at Hnry Stadium in Wellington as India beat New Zealand by 6 wickets in the third T20I of the New Zealand vs India T20I Series 2026. The win gave India an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series, with two games still to play.

New Zealand made 198/3 in their 20 overs and India replied with 199/4 in 13.2 overs. It was Abhishek’s fourth T20I hundred, and he reached it in the 10th over, off Kyle Jamieson.

The chase

The platform was an aggressive opening stand between Abhishek and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who was promoted to open after batting at number three in the second T20I. ANI describes Vaibhav as a 15-year-old.

India’s powerplay was the highest in men’s T20Is, beating the earlier record held by Romania against Serbia in 2021. India also recorded the fastest team fifty by a full-member nation in T20Is.

Dawn reports that India captain Shreyas Iyer said he had not seen a team reach 100 in five overs before at international level. Abhishek said the key was that he and Vaibhav enjoyed their time out there, and that the extra bounce they saw while fielding helped them.

New Zealand’s innings was built on an unbeaten, career-best T20I knock from Daryl Mitchell, which reports describe as the foundation of the home innings.

State of the series

India won the first T20I on 22 October by 4 wickets, replying to 225/4 with 230/6 in 19.4 overs. They took the second on 24 October by 4 wickets as well, reaching 181/6 in 19.5 overs against 180/5.

In Wellington, India needed only 13.2 overs for their 199/4. The series now moves to Auckland for the fourth T20I at Eden Park on 30 October, with the fifth in Hamilton on 1 November. Both start at 12:30 PM IST.