India have thrashed the Black Caps by six wickets in Wellington to win their Twenty20 cricket series, after opener Abhishek Sharma blasted 113 runs from just 38 balls.
New Zealand batted first and made 198 runs for the loss of three wickets, led by Daryl Mitchell, who hit his best-ever T20 score of 89 not out.
But India chased down the target in only 13.2 overs. In T20 cricket, each team gets 20 overs to bat, and an over is six balls.
Abhishek and teenage star Vaibhav Sooryavanshi put on 133 runs together for the first wicket, with Sooryavanshi scoring 45 from 19 balls. India reached 100 runs in only five overs, and their 118 runs in the first six overs (called the “power play”) was the best by any country in T20s.
Abhishek reached 50 from 15 balls and 100 from 35 balls, hitting 10 sixes and seven fours. “I think the key was pretty simple,” he said, explaining that the pair just wanted to enjoy themselves and build momentum for the team.
Altogether, 26 sixes were hit in the match.
The win gives India an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the five-match series, with two games still to play.
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