When India’s first wicket fell — Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for a 19-ball 45 — the match was already over. Just 66 more runs were needed off 77 balls. Chasing 199, India had raced to 133 in 7.1 overs at a jaw-dropping run rate of 18.56, having scored at 20 runs an over around the five-over mark. Such was the destruction. Abhishek Sharma’s breathtaking 113 then sealed the deal, handing India an unassailable 3-0 lead with a breezy six-wicket win and 40 balls to spare, after the opener had served up a six-hitting spectacle.
For all the records that tumbled in the T20Is against West Indies at home, the belief was that the New Zealand series, irrespective of the small grounds, would offer a leveller. The balance between bat and ball remained very much intact until the second T20I. But what transpired at the Hnry Stadium shattered those beliefs, leaving spectators in attendance and viewers at home gobsmacked.
Also Read: India vs New Zealand 3rd T20I, As it happened
India took just 2.2 overs to register the fastest fifty by a Full Member nation, matching a record held by Papua New Guinea and Romania. And if that wasn’t enough, India needed just five overs — 30 balls — to bring up their hundred. There’s more.
India belted 118 runs in Powerplay, also a record for the most runs scored in the first six overs. Such was the ruthlessness of Abhishek and Sooryavanshi that Jacob Duffy conceded 26 runs in the first over of the innings, equalling Malta’s Varun Thamotharam’s unwanted record.
{{/usCountry}}India belted 118 runs in Powerplay, also a record for the most runs scored in the first six overs. Such was the ruthlessness of Abhishek and Sooryavanshi that Jacob Duffy conceded 26 runs in the first over of the innings, equalling Malta’s Varun Thamotharam’s unwanted record.
{{/usCountry}}At one stage, Abhishek was 94 off 27 balls, on the verge of bettering his own record for the fastest century in T20Is by a Full Member player. He fell short after a rare lull in scoring but eventually reached three figures off 35 balls.
By then, the outcome was a foregone conclusion. The Blackcaps were shell-shocked. It was also the perfect setting for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to find his groove. He raced to 13 off five balls before Abhishek took matters into his own hands.
Which is the most brutal T20 innings that comes to mind? Does IPL 2013, Bengaluru, and RCB ring a bell? Abhishek's berserker innings was a throwback to Chris Gayle’s demolition of the Pune Warriors India. Gayle smashed 175 off 66 balls. And given the mood Abhishek was in, that record might well have ended up biting the dust.
Abhishek loves scoring fifties. Of the 18 times he has breached the mark in T20Is, only once has he taken more than 30 balls. He has reached a half-century off 14 balls once, while today marked the third time he got there in 15. He began the assault as early as the second over, belting Adam Milne for two sixes and a four. Michael Bracewell and Kyle Jamieson were plundered for a combined three fours and four sixes. As Milne continued to pitch outside off, Abhishek drove, caressed and cut his way to boundaries, clearing the ropes with remarkable regularity. In fact, 51 of his 113 runs came through the cover region.
Abhishek cleared the ropes 11 times. The next best were Finn Allen and Daryl Mitchell, with five sixes apiece. With 11 centuries, Abhishek surpassed Quinton de Kock, Virat Kohli and David Warner to move to third on the list of batters with the most centuries in T20 cricket. He is now just one behind Glenn Maxwell and Rohit Sharma, who have five T20I centuries each. What’s next? Perhaps the record his mentor Yuvraj Singh keeps reminding him about — the 12-ball fifty. He brought it up again in a tweet today. Honestly, don’t be surprised if Abhishek gets there in 10.
“I have said this before. I don't know what cricket he was playing at the time”, Abhishek said with a smile after the match. If anyone wants to go out and bat like that, it is not easy. It is not easy to get a fifty in 12 balls. But we do not think about it; we want to just win the match for our team.”
Sooryavanshi gets some confidence back
While Abhishek went hammer and tongs at the other end, the under-pressure Sooryavanshi got a much-needed confidence boost. How often does a 19-ball 45 get overshadowed? Sooryavanshi has made a career out of blazing away to such frantic starts. Today, though, he played second fiddle, not a role one would normally associate with him. He was simply outshone by his senior.
“Key was pretty much simple — that me and Vaibhav enjoy our time. When we were fielding, we saw there was some extra bounce (and that we could target the shorter side),” Abhishek added.
“Vaibhav started off well, and we took the momentum from there. It is not that easy, but it is down to the preparation. Huge shoutout to our coaching staff and our side-arm [bowlers]. We had a good practice session yesterday, and I just wanted to use it. I manifested this innings, and it happened.”
Gautam Gambhir, poker-faced throughout the innings, reserved his beaming smile for the end, celebrating India’s only third T20I series win in New Zealand. Sitanshu Kotak put his arms around Abhishek as the team revelled in the celebrations.
This was no ordinary T20I demolition. It was a superior batting display, backed by an equally impressive effort with the ball. On the same surface, India’s bowlers restricted New Zealand to under 200. The hosts were 100/2 after 10 overs, but failed to double that total in the second half of their innings. India conceded just 52 runs in the final five overs, underlining the bowlers’ contribution to a comprehensive victory.