India defeats New Zealand to secure T20 series victory in Wellington

India secured the five-match T20 series against New Zealand with two games remaining after claiming a six-wicket victory in the third match in Wellington on Tuesday. Chasing a target of 199 for victory, the visiting side reached the total in just 13.2 overs.

Opening batter Abhishek Sharma led the run chase with a brilliant 113 runs off 38 deliveries, which included a 35-ball century. His explosive innings brought India to the doorstep of victory before he was caught near deep midwicket off the bowling of Kyle Jamieson.

The opening partnership proved decisive as Abhishek combined with 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to score a record 118 runs during the powerplay. The previous powerplay record of 116 had been set by Romania against Serbia in 2021. Sooryavanshi contributed 45 runs before being dismissed while attempting to hit a shot off Matthew Fisher.

“That was the plan for us. Just get the momentum for the team and keep going,” said Abhishek after receiving the man-of-the-match award.

New Zealand, having lost the toss and batted first for the third consecutive match, managed a competitive total of 198. No 3 batter Daryl Mitchell anchored the innings with an unbeaten 89 runs to give the hosts a defendable score.

New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner acknowledged the difficulty of containing the Indian batters once they establish momentum. “Pretty tough to stop those guys when they’re going. We’ve seen it before, seen it in the IPL and obviously witnessed it here tonight in New Zealand,” Santner stated.

During the match, India experienced an injury concern when batter Tilak Varma left the field in the third over after slipping while attempting to field a ball. Varma had previously starred in the second match of the series by scoring an unbeaten 51 to earn the player-of-the-match honors, and the team will monitor his condition closely ahead of the fourth fixture in Auckland on Friday.