What a start to the series! If you missed the first T20 between India and New Zealand, you missed a show, especially from a young man named Abhishek Sharma. This guy was just unbelievable! He played one of the most explosive innings I’ve seen in a long time, smashing the New Zealand bowlers all over the park to single-handedly win the game for India by 48 runs.
Chasing a big target, India needed someone to step up, and Abhishek decided he was the man for the job. He walked in and just took the game by storm. It wasn’t just about the 84 runs he scored; it was about how he scored them. He wasn’t just playing, he was launching! The ball was flying into the stands like it was a practice session. He hit so many sixes that the outfielders might as well have been spectators.
And while he was doing all this, he was smashing records too! It was a historic knock that will be remembered for a long time. He made the whole chase look so easy that by the time he got out, the game was already pretty much in India’s pocket.
Once Abhishek had set the platform, New Zealand was always going to be under pressure. To their credit, Glenn Phillips tried his best to pull off a miracle. He played a really fighting knock and even scored a fifty, but it was all in vain. He was like a lone warrior in a battle he couldn’t win alone. The Indian bowlers, especially Varun Chakravarthy and Shivam Dube, were brilliant. They both picked up two wickets each and never let the New Zealand batters settle, making sure Phillips’ hard work went to waste.
All in all, it was a perfect team performance, but the day will forever be remembered for Abhishek Sharma’s blistering, record-breaking knock.
Match Score:
- New Zealand Innings: 180 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in 20 overs (Glenn Phillips top-scored with 54 runs)
- India Innings: 182 runs for the loss of 5 wickets in 18.5 overs (Abhishek Sharma top-scored with 84 runs)
- Result: India won by 6 wickets.
Records Broken by Abhishek Sharma:
- Fastest T20 Fifty for India vs New Zealand: Abhishek reached his half-century in just 19 balls, the fastest ever by an Indian player against New Zealand in T20 Internationals.
- Highest Individual Score by an Indian in a T20 Chase vs NZ: His 84 runs is now the highest score made by an Indian batter while chasing a target against New Zealand in a T20 match.
- Most Sixes in an Innings: He hit a huge number of sixes in his knock, equaling or setting a new record for the most sixes by an Indian player in a T20 innings against New Zealand.
