Abhishek blitz puts India 1-0 up
Abhishek Sharma kickstarted 2026 in fine fashion with an explosive 35-ball 84 that helped India take an early lead in the five-match T20I series. On the back of a fantastic 2025 in T20 cricket, Abhishek carried forward that momentum in his first outing for the national side this year and slammed eight sixes in his thrilling knock as India put up 238/7 - their highest T20I total against New Zealand. In reply, the visitors fell short comfortably by 48 runs.
India lost two wickets very early in the contest as Kyle Jamieson and Jacob Duffy got rid of Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan. But as always, Abhishek wasn't deterred by the early losses as he hammered four sixes inside the powerplay as India raced to 68/2 after six overs. Suryakumar Yadav, desperate for runs, started off in fine fashion too as he even brought out his trademark pick up short to clear the ropes early in his innings. In the process, Abhishek brought up his fifty off just 20 balls as the two batters put on 99 for the third wicket before Suryakumar's dismissal at the halfway mark.
In the very next over, New Zealand also saw the back of Abhishek as he cleared the ropes two more times against Ish Sodhi before miscuing one. At this point, India still had eight overs left in their innings. Even though Shivam Dube fell early immediately after smashing a six, Hardik Pandya made 25 off 16 before Rinku Singh took charge at the death. Rinku took full toll of New Zealand's decision to bowl Daryl Mitchell at the death as he carted him away for two fours and two sixes to remain unbeaten on 44.
New Zealand received an early setback when Devon Conway chased an away going delivery to edge it behind, followed by Rachin Ravindra nicking one to slip in the second over. Losing two wickets within the first nine deliveries, New Zealand still managed to put up 50 runs in the powerplay, thanks predominantly to Glenn Phillips. However, Varun Chakaravarthy came into the attack and got rid of Tim Robinson immediately after the powerplay ended to further dent the visitors. Phillips and Mark Chapman hit enough boundaries including a phase where they combined to clear the ropes thrice in the space of five balls.
Despite those efforts, New Zealand were always under the pump given the target they were chasing. And once Phillips departed for a 40-ball 78, it was curtains for New Zealand. Chakaravarthy rounded off his spell with Chapman's wicket before the likes of Santner and Mitchell added a few more boundaries that ultimately only helped in reducing the margin of defeat.
@B0$: India 238/7 in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 84, Rinku Singh 44*; Jacob Duffy 2/27) beat New Zealand 190/7 in 20 overs (Glenn Phillips 78, Mark Chapman 39; Shivam Dube 2/28) by 48 runs
