India Seal T20 Series Against New Zealand With Commanding Victory In Wellington

by Devesh Jaganath | by Devesh Jaganath

image India Seal T20 Series Against New Zealand With Commanding Victory In Wellington
India took an unassailable 3-0 lead in their five-match T20I series against New Zealand by securing an impressive six-wicket victory at the Wellington Regional Stadium yesterday. Abhishek Sharma played a key role for the Men in Blue to wrap up the series with two games left to play.
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Abhishek Sharma Powers India to Victory Over Black Caps

Abhishek Sharma produced a batting masterclass, smashing a stunning 35-ball century to help India chase down New Zealand’s 198 in just 13.2 overs at the Wellington Regional Stadium yesterday.

Sharma and teenage starlet Vaibhav Sooryavanshi put on an incredible 133-run first-wicket stand in seven overs, with their 118-run partnership inside the powerplay now standing as a new record in T20 internationals.

Sooryavanshi departed for 45 off 19 deliveries, while Sharma needed just 15 balls to reach his half-century before going on to score 113 runs off only 38 deliveries, smashing New Zealand's bowlers for nine 4s and 11 sixes in the process.

Sharma’s knock fell just short of beating his own record for scoring India’s fastest T20 century, which came off 30 balls against Afghanistan last month!

India’s middle order of Sanju Samson (18 off 13), Shreyas Iyer (5 off 10), Tilak Varma (1* off 1) and Naman Dhir (4* off 1) were able to add the remaining runs required to reach the target with more than six overs to spare and confirm our cricket predictions.

Batting first, Daryl Mitchell played a leading role for the Black Caps, scoring 89 runs from 52 deliveries, while Finn Allen added 40 off 25. The 198-run total looked competitive before Sharma and Sooryavanshi burst out the blocks in the powerplay.

India have now secured the series win at 3-0. The sides will head to Eden Park for the fourth T20I on Friday before the series finale at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Sunday morning.

Major Shake-Up Sees Sharma Reclaim Top Spot in World Rankings

Following an impressive display in the series against Afghanistan and his blistering knock against New Zealand in Wellington, Sharma has now reclaimed the title as the best batter in T20Is amid a big week of changes to the ICC Men’s Player Rankings.

The left-hander took the top spot in the rankings by displacing teammate Ishan Kishan, who was unable to feature in the third T20I against the Black Caps yesterday after suffering a right adductor strain during the series-opener last week.

Elsewhere, Marco Jansen continued his rapid rise, becoming the number-one-ranked Test bowler and all-rounder. The Proteas’ star earns the top billing in two categories for the first time in his career after a standout performance against Australia in Gqeberha.

Jansen moved up 13 places to 56th for Test batters. He picked up five spots to overtake Mitchell Starc as the No.1 bowler in Test cricket and bumped India’s Ravindra Jadeja off his perch to become the top-ranked all-rounder in Test cricket.