Guwahati25 January. After the tightness of the bowlers led by Jasprit Bumrah (3-17), opener Abhishek Sharma (68 not out, 20 balls, five sixes, seven fours) and captain Suryakumar Yadav (57 not out, 26 balls, three sixes, six fours) shattered the opposition attack with stormy half-centuries. The result was that Team India defeated New Zealand by eight wickets with 10 overs to spare in the third T20 International played here on Sunday and took an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.

Kiwi team reached 153 runs in front of Bumrah, Pandya and Bishnoi

Opting to bat first at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, the Kiwis reached 153 runs for nine wickets in 20 overs in front of ‘Player of the Match’, Bumrah, Hardik Pandya (2-23) and Ravi Bishnoi (2-18), who returned to the team after almost a year. For the guests, only Glenn Phillips (48 runs, 40 balls, one six, six fours) and Mark Chapman (32 runs, 23 balls, two sixes, two fours) could go above the 30 mark.

Unbroken partnership of 102 runs in 40 balls between Abhishek and Surya

In response, due to the explosive half-centuries of Abhishek and Surya and the unbroken partnership of 102 runs between them in just 40 balls, India scored 155 runs for two wickets in 10 overs. Now both the teams will play the fourth match in Visakhapatnam on 28 January while the fifth and final match will be played in Thiruvananthapuram (31 January).

score card

India, however, did not get off to a good start as Sanju Samson continued to struggle at the top of the order and was dismissed by Matt Henry on the very first ball of the innings. Sanju’s scores in the first three matches have been 10, 6 and zero. This has increased the pressure on his place as Ishan Kishan is making a strong case with his explosive batting.

Ishan Kishan and Abhishek added 53 runs for the second wicket.

After playing the match-winning innings (76 runs) in Raipur, Ishaan (28 runs, 13 balls, two sixes, three fours) again showed his sharp hands and along with Abhishek scored 53 runs in just 19 balls. However, Ish Sodhi returned Kishan in the fourth over itself.

Abhishek and Surya took India to 94 runs in the power play itself.

At present, Abhishek, who was out on zero in the last match, and Surya, who was at fourth position, started such an explosion that the score reached 94 runs in the power play itself. This was India’s second-highest score in the powerplay, just one less than the 95 scored against England earlier this year. With this the result was almost certain.

Abhishek became India’s second fastest half-century scorer

In this sequence, with his explosive batting, Abhishek became the second fastest player for India to score a half-century in just 14 balls. Among Indians, Yuvraj Singh holds the record of scoring a half-century in 12 balls and Abhishek was just two balls behind his mentor. Ultimately Abhishek and Surya took the team to victory in just 60 balls.