Hosts India have taken a 3–0 unassailable lead in the five-match T20I series against New Zealand after claiming a destructive victory in the third game of the series at Guwahati on Sunday night (January 25).
After India sent the visitors to bat first, New Zealand scored 153/9 in 20 overs. In reply, India chased down the target in just 10 overs, while losing only two wickets, as the Men in Blues won the match by eight wickets with 60 balls remaining to seal the series with two matches yet to be played.
The Blackcaps' batting struggled from the first over, while they scored 36/3 at the end of the powerplay. Only Glenn Phillips (48), Mark Chapman (32), and captain Mitchell Santner (27) recorded 20+ runs in that innings. Among the Indian bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah (3/17) got three wickets, while Ravi Bishnoi (2/18) and Hardik Pandya (2/23) claimed two wickets each.
Although the opener Sanju Samson was out on the first ball of the second innings, another opener Abhishek Sharma produced another powerful batting, while Ishan Kishan and captain Suryakumar Yadav brought complete support. While Abhishek scored a 14-ball fifty and 68 not out off 20 balls with seven fours and five sixes, Ishan scored 28 off 13 balls (three fours and two sixes), and Suryakumar scored 57 not out off 26 balls with six fours and three sixes.
Sanju Samson with golden duck
Opener Sanju Samson was dismissed for a golden duck on the first ball of India’s innings.
It was the first time that an Indian opener was dismissed on the first ball of a T20I innings on Indian soil.
It was the fourth time that an Indian opener was dismissed on the first ball of a T20I innings. The other three names were KL Rahul (vs Zimbabwe at Harare in 2016), Prithvi Shaw (vs Sri Lanka in Colombo, RPS, in 2021), and Rohit Sharma (vs West Indies at Basseterre in 2022).
Abhishek Sharma 14-ball fifty
Indian opener Abhishek Sharma slammed a 14-ball fifty.
It was the fastest T20I half-century against New Zealand. The previous record was a 20-ball fifty, which was jointly held by Australian David Warner (at Auckland in 2018) and Pakistan Iftikhar Ahmed (at Lahore in 2023).
It was the second-fastest T20I half-century by an Indian. The record is a 12-ball fifty by Yuvraj Singh against England during the Super Eight of the ICC World T20 2007.
India chased 150+ target in 10 overs
India successfully chased the 154-run target in just 10 overs after losing only two wickets.
It was the second-fastest 150+ chase in T20I history. The record is Australia chasing the 155-run target in just 9.4 overs against Scotland in the group stage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
New Zealand suffered record defeat
India won the match by eight wickets with 60 balls remaining.
It is a new record for the fastest T20I chase against New Zealand. The previous record was winning with 47 balls remaining by South Africa (won by eight wickets at Durban in 2012) and Pakistan (won by seven wickets at Rawalpindi in 2024) once each.
India equalled Pakistan's record
India have secured the series by 3–0 with two matches yet to be played.
It is India’s 11th consecutive bilateral T20I series win. With the latest series win, India have equalised Pakistan’s record for the most consecutive bilateral T20I series wins, which Pakistan recorded 11 times between 2016 and 2018.
