GUWAHATI: Inspired bowling and a 14-ball fifty by opener Abhishek Sharma led India to a thumping eight-wicket victory over New Zealand in the third T20 international on Sunday.
Pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah with figures of 3-17 and leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi (2-18) kept New Zealand to 153-9 after India opted to field first in Guwahati.
Left-hander Abhishek then hit an unbeaten 20-ball 68 and skipper Suryakumar Yadav made 57 as India headed home with 10 overs remaining to take an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.
It was the ninth consecutive T20 series victory for India, the reigning T20 World Cup champions.
The series is a warm-up ahead of the T20 World Cup which begins on February 7 in India and Sri Lanka.
“This is the type of cricket we want to play, regardless of whether we bat first or chase it,” Suryakumar said. “For example, if we are 24 for 3 or 44 for 4 tomorrow, we know how to hit.”
New Zealand quick Matt Henry bowled Sanju Samson with the first ball of India’s chase, but the hosts quickly took control with Ishan Kishan and fellow left-hander Abhishek hitting a flurry of fours and sixes.
The pair made 53 runs off 19 balls before Kishan fell for 28 to Ish Sodhi, but Abhishek raced to India’s second fastest in the format.
Abhishek missed his mentor Yuvraj Singh’s fastest T20 fifty for India by two balls. Yuvraj scored a fifty in 12 balls in 2007.
Abhishek continued the attack with Suryakumar, who hit his second consecutive fifty in his 26-ball knock. The duo posted an unbeaten stand of 102 to underline India’s status as the number one T20 team in the world.
The Indian bowlers cruised to victory with the pacers claiming three wickets in the first six overs, including Harshit Rana dismissing Devon Conway for the fifth time in successive white-ball matches.
Rachin Ravindra fell for four to Hardik Pandya. Bumrah, who was named player of the match, then took on keeper-batsman Tim Seifert for 12 as New Zealand collapsed to 34-3.
Glenn Phillips, who made 48 from 40 balls, and tried to turn things around in a partnership of 54 for the fourth wicket with Mark Chapman before Bishnoi broke through.
Bishnoi, who made the Indian XI after almost a year, left Chapman behind for 32 and then denied Phillips a half-century.
Wickets continued to tumble and despite skipper Mitchell Santner’s 27 off 17 balls, New Zealand fell well short of a Test total.
“I think I will also give credit to India with the ball,” Santner said. “They made it really difficult for us. Obviously, powerplay wickets are key. And then for us to get to 150, we knew it was going to be a challenge from there.”
The fourth match will take place on Wednesday in Visakhapatnam.
DASHBOARD
NEW ZEALAND:
D. Conway v Pandya b Rana 1
T. Seifert b Bumrah 12
R. Ravindra v Bishnoi b Pandya 4
G. Phillips v Kishan b Bishnoï 48
Mr. Chapman v Samson b Bishnoi 32
D. Mitchell v Kishan b Pandya 14
M. Santner v Sharma b Bumrah 27
K. Jamieson b Bumrah 3
Mr. Henry is exhausted 1
I. Sodhi not released 2
J. Duffy not absent 4
ADDITIONAL (LB-4, W-1) 5
TOTAL (for nine wickets, 20 overs) 153
FALL OF Wickets: 1-2 (Conway), 2-13 (Ravindra), 3-34 (Seifert), 4-86 (Chapman), 5-112 (Mitchell), 6-112 (Phillips), 7-132 (Jamieson), 8-134 (Henry), 9-144 (Santner)
BOWLING: Rana 4-0-35-1, Pandya 3-0-23-2, Bishnoi 4-0-18-2, Bumrah 4-0-17-3, K. Yadav 3-0-32-0 (1w), Dube 2-0-24-0
INDIA:
S. Samson b Henry 0
A. Sharma not absent 68
I. Kishan v Chapman b Sodhi 28
S. Yadav not absent 57
ADDITIONAL (W-2) 2
TOTAL (for two wickets, 10 overs) 155
DID NOT BEAT: S. Dube, R. Singh, H. Pandya, H. Rana, R. Bishnoi, K. Yadav, J. Bumrah
FALL OF Wickets: 1-0 (Samson), 2-53 (Kishan)
BOWLING: Henry 2-0-28-1, Duffy 2-0-38-0, Jamieson 1-0-17-0 (2w), Sodhi 2-0-28-1, Santner 2-0-28-0, Phillips 1-0-16-0
RESULT: India won by eight wickets.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Jasprit Bumrah
Published in Dawn, January 26, 2026
