Kolkata : When you see Abhishek Sharma in prime touch, it’s not the day for bowlers. The 26 years old plundered 113 (38) for fun in the 3rd T20I and helped India pocket the 5 match series 3-0. But he also made headlines surpassing Virat Kohli to set a T20 record to his name.
What happened in the match?
India chasing 199 runs saw young prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma hammer Kiwi bowlers all over the park. They started off with 26 runs in first over of the innings bowled by Jacob Duffy – which is most runs in a T20I innings first over by any full member side.
The duo added mammoth 118 runs stand in the powerplay (1-6 overs) , most by any nation in T20I. The carnage even made umpires lose the count of Balls in the 8th over. The duo added a total of 133 runs opening stand before Vaibhav was dismissed.
Abhishek scored a total of 113 (38) which included 11 sixes, 9 boundaries, and whopping strike rate of 297.37, scoring 51 off those runs in offside.
He ultimately gave Kiwi bowlers a sigh of relief after he got dismissed on 178. Sanju Samson and rest Batters guided India past the target in 13.2 overs. This was the biggest win by a Full Member side chasing 190 or more in terms of Balls remaining in T20I.
Earlier in 1st innings, New Zealand on back of Daryl Mitchell (89*), Finn Allen (40), Bevon Jacobs (39*) posted 198-3 (20). With this win, India have conquered the 5 match T20I series 3-0.
Records created by Abhishek Sharma –
This match was headlined for many reasons – Abhishek Sharma’s hundred and records shattered by him. One of the prominent records that he broke was Virat Kohli’s record of most T20 Hundreds by an Indian. Virat Kohli had 10 T20 hundreds to his name. This ton was Abhishek’s 4th in T20I and 11th in T20 Cricket, surpassing the Legendary Indian Batter. Abhishek also now has the 2nd joint most T20I hundred by an Indian along with Surya Kumar Yadav, after Rohit Sharma.
Apart from this, Abhishek also added few other records to his name.
Most Hundreds in T20 Cricket :
22 – Chris Gayle
13 – Babar Azam
11* – Abhishek Sharma
10 – Virat Kohli, David Warner, Quinton de Kock
Most Hundreds in Men’s T20I :
5 – Glenn Maxwell, Rohit Sharma
4 – Abhishek Sharma, Phil Salt, Surya Kumar Yadav, Karanbir Singh.
Most Sixes for India in T20I innings :
13 – Abhishek Sharma vs England (2025)
11 – Abhishek Sharma vs Afghanistan (2026)
11* – Abhishek Sharma vs New Zealand (2026)
Hitting More than 10 sixes in Men’s T20I most often :
5 – Karanbir Singh (Austria)
3 – Abhishek Sharma (India)
Hitting More than 10 sixes in Men’s T20 most often :
18 – Chris Gayle
7 – Abhishek Sharma
Fastest 50s in T20I in matches between 2 full member sides :
12 – Yuvraj Singh vs England (2007)
14 – Abhishek Sharma (vs New Zealand, 2026) Colin Munro (vs Sri Lanka , 2016)
15* – Abhishek Sharma vs New Zealand, 2026
Hitting first Ball for a six most often in T20I :
8* – Abhishek Sharma
6 – S. Shinwari
5 – Surya Kumar Yadav 4 – Paul Stirling, Colin Munro, Nd Naveed
Fastest T20I Hundred (Full member) :
30 – Abhishek Sharma
33 – Sikandar Raza, Finn Allen
35* – Abhishek Sharma, David Miller, Rohit Sharma.
