Abhishek Sharma's 113 and a record powerplay seal the T20I series for India in Wellington

India broke the men's T20I record for runs scored in a powerplay and chased down 199 with 40 balls to spare in Wellington, taking an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series

India won the third T20I at Sky Stadium on Tuesday by six wickets, reaching 199 for 4 in 13.2 overs after New Zealand had posted 198 for 3.

Abhishek Sharma made 113 from 38 balls with nine fours and 11 sixes, and the chase was settled long before he was out in the 10th over.

India were 118 for 0 at the end of the powerplay, the highest score recorded in the first six overs of a men's T20I innings.

A powerplay without precedent

The previous mark was 116 for 0, made by Romania against Serbia in Sofia in 2021 and reached in 5.4 overs. Australia's 113 for 1 against Scotland in Edinburgh in 2024 had held the record before that.

India's hundred arrived in 30 legal deliveries, the second-fastest recorded team hundred in men's T20Is.

Both comparisons are drawn from matches for which ball-by-ball data exists, so older innings are not fully covered by them.

Twenty-six from the opening over

Jacob Duffy bowled the first over of the chase and conceded 26, five of them in wides. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi drove the opening delivery for four and Abhishek pulled a short ball over cover-point for six.

Seventeen came from the second over, leaving India 43 without loss after two. They were 84 for 0 after four.

By the end of the powerplay India needed 81 from 84 balls, and New Zealand had taken no wicket with which to slow them down.

Abhishek takes the chase away

Abhishek's innings ended when Glenn Phillips caught him at deep midwicket off Kyle Jamieson, with India 178 for 2. Santner had put him down on 92.

Sooryavanshi, opening in place of the injured Ishan Kishan, made 45 from 19 balls with four fours and four sixes before holing out to Daryl Mitchell off Matthew Fisher.

Their opening stand was worth 133 and lasted 7.1 overs. India lost two further wickets in the closing stages without the result ever being in question.

Sanju Samson came in at No. 3 and Shreyas Iyer followed, with 21 still required when Abhishek departed.

Mitchell and Jacobs set a target that was not enough

Daryl Mitchell finished 89 not out from 52 balls with five fours and five sixes, batting from the fourth over through to the last.

Bevon Jacobs was 39 not out from 23, and the pair added an unbroken 75 for the fourth wicket. Finn Allen made 40 and Phillips 17, while Tim Seifert went for 2 in the opening over.

Arshdeep Singh took 1-33 and removed Seifert, Axar Patel 1-36 with a return catch to dismiss Phillips, and Nitish Kumar Reddy 1-38. Bhuvneshwar Kumar conceded 40 and Prince Yadav 44.

New Zealand lost their three wickets at 4, 90 and 123, and a total of 198 for 3 looked a long way above par until India began the reply.

Two matches left with the series decided

India had won the first two matches in Christchurch, both by four wickets. The sides now move to Auckland on 30 October and to Hamilton on 1 November.

Iyer chose to field after winning the toss, and India have now chased successfully in all three of their wins on this tour.

Scorecard: New Zealand 198 for 3 in 20 overs (Daryl Mitchell 89*, Finn Allen 40, Bevon Jacobs 39*; Arshdeep Singh 1-33, Axar Patel 1-36, Nitish Kumar Reddy 1-38) lost to India 199 for 4 in 13.2 overs (Abhishek Sharma 113, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 45) by six wickets.

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