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India sealed a dominant six-wicket victory over New Zealand in the third T20I of the five-match series at the Hnry Stadium in Wellington on Tuesday, October 27.
Being put into bat, the Kiwis were dealt an early blow as Arshdeep Singh snagged Tim Seifert in the second over of the game. Finn Allen was joined by Daryl Mitchell as the pair stitched an 86-run stand. Allen fell for 40, but Mitchell motored along, scoring an unbeaten 89 off 52 balls, and stitched a 75-run stand with Bevon Jacobs, who finished with 39 off 23 balls.
In response, India came out all guns blazing, with Abhishek Sharma and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi taking the attack to the Black Caps' bowlers in merciless fashion. They reached 50 in just 2.2 overs, and reached 100 in just five overs, shattering records in the process. Abhishek played wrecker-in-chief, reaching his half-century in just 15 balls, as India recorded the highest powerplay score by a full-member nation in 118 for no loss.
Sooryavanshi fell for a quickfire 45 off 19 balls, but Abhishek motored along, reaching a magnificent century in just 35 balls. He eventually fell for 113 off 39 balls, hitting nine fours and 11 massive sixes. Despite losing a few wickets afterwards, the Men in Blue reached home in just 13.2 overs.
The victory sees India take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series, after having already won the first two games at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch.
NZ vs IND: Talking Points
1. Abhishek Sharma takes the attack to New Zealand's bowlers
The patches of fans at the Hnry Stadium in Wellington watched in awe as Abhishek Sharma produced a merciless takedown of New Zealand's bowlers in a masterful display. The southpaw played shots all over the ground, hitting nine fours and eleven sixes in his knock. He set the platform for India's chase with a scintillating knock,
2. India's young southpaws capitalise on Wellington's smaller boundaries in powerplay
While Abhishek Sharma was the star of the show, his tandem act with the prodigious Vaibhav Sooryavanshi capped off a display of pure power and precision. The young batters targeted the short square boundaries at the Hnry Stadium, recording 118 for 0 in the powerplay, the highest score by a full-member side. Their 133-run stand set the tone for the innings.
3. Daryl Mitchell's fighting effort the only positive for New Zealand
In a game where the Black Caps were thoroughly outplayed, Daryl Mitchell stood out as a beacon for his side. New Zealand's 'crisis-man' was once again at the forefront, coming in after Tim Seifert's early dismissal. He was the glue to New Zealand's batting effort, scoring an unbeaten 89 off 52 balls, stitching vital partnerships with Finn Allen and Bevon Jacobs.
NZ vs IND: Who Said What?
Mitchell Santner, New Zealand Captain:
"Yeah it is tough to stop those guys. Witnessed that firsthand in the IPL, now experiencing it in New Zealand. Daryl and BJ got us to there. 200 is a nice score. They bowled really well in the last few overs, nailed the yorkers and made it very tough for us. Reasonably happy, we knew that it was a good wicket. The dew comes in. The powerplay is the best part of this game. They showed us how to bat. The batting's firing nicely. Different guys stepping up, which is a good thing. Guys are confident. We know the guys are scoring the runs, but it's tough to defend. I saw Axar in the first innings, there was not much there in the surface. There was a bit of nibble for the seamers. Tried to change the pace with Bracewell against the two left handers to start. They played the spinner in the powerplay really well. From there on it was just changing up and see what we could do. We gonna have to try and find the ways to stop them."
Shreyas Iyer, India Captain:
"It was pleasing to the eyes, the way they played strokes. Even when me and Sanju went out, the ball was seaming and we were like how did they manage this?! It was simply mind boggling. Honestly speaking, 100 in 5 overs - I have never seen that before especially at the international level and definitely tops it. It is essential overseas when the conditions are going to be different. You will be challenged by a lot of different deliveries. Just to overcome this by such phenomenal performance. Credit the way they played today, it was exceptional. I hope they keep continuing with the same form. Amazing the way the lads pulled up to this occasion. Jet lagged at the start and the way they fitted in to the occasion, mind boggling. After 10 overs, I realized that bowling the hard lengths and half volleys were going in the stands. I just wanted them to try and hit the yorkers. Even if they bowled all six balls as yorkers, it made them go down the ground. Wide yorkers helped us on this wicket. We were able to execute that and minimized the run rate to 7-8 that helped us a lot to keep them under 10 runs per over. Our plan was to restrict them under 200."
Abhishek Sharma, Player of the Match:
I think the key was pretty simple. It was just me and Vaibhav, just going to enjoy there for a bit, especially in the powerplay. And especially when we were fielding, we were observing the pitch a bit because of this extra bounce. But I feel the dimensions of the ground, we could use the powerplay and we could use the pace as well. So that was the easy plan. And then, obviously, the way he started the first over, Vaibhav, I think that was really special. And that was the plan for us, get the momentum for the team and then just keep going.
I mean, obviously, I feel it's not that... I wouldn't say it's easy, that easy, but it's just the preparation behind the scenes, I would say. Special mention to our coaches, because the side-ons, we've been playing them a lot. And it's just, I feel that preparation is really important as a batter. If you see the conditions and the dimensions, that's always in your mind, and then you have to, you know, keep the bowlers also in your mind and play the shots according to the bowlers. And that's all I do. We had a good practice session yesterday and I just wanted to utilize it, and that's what I did. And I feel I pretty much, you know, manifested the setting and it happened.
I mean, I've said this before as well. I don't know what cricket he was playing back then, that time, but it's not that easy at all. And I would say any batter want to go there and bat like that. It's not easy at all. It's just you can't just go and score 50 in 12 balls. It just happens once in a while. But obviously, as batters, we don't go for that milestone. We always wanted to, you know, win the game for the team, and me and especially Vaibhav, he's there. So that was our plan, and that's what we want to play throughout the series as well, and it went well."
