3rd T20I: Ton-up Abhishek headlines India's series-winning victory over NZ
What's the story
Abhishek Sharma smashed a match-winning hundred for India in the third T20I against New Zealand in Wellington on Tuesday. The left-handed batsman went on an all-out attack as India accomplished the target of 199 runs with six wickets and 40 balls to spare. Earlier in the day, the Kiwis finished at 198/3 thanks to Daryl Mitchell's 89. Having also clinched the first two games, India have now gained an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match affair.
NZ innings
Mitchell's unbeaten 89 propels NZ to strong total
Earlier in the day, Mitchell led New Zealand's batting effort with an unbeaten 89, helping the hosts reach a competitive total after being asked to bat first.
Finn Allen contributed a quickfire 40 off 25 balls before departing.
Mitchell and Bevon Jacobs (39*) put together an unbroken partnership of 75 runs for the fourth wicket, taking their team to a challenging total.
Chase
Abhishek's record-breaking ton powers India to historic win
India were off to a flier as the Kiwi bowlers were smashed all over the park.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi gave Abhishek good company at the top of the order, scoring a quick 45 off just 20 balls before getting out.
The latter went on to hammer a 35-ball hundred.
By the time he was dismissed, India had already raced to 178 runs in just 10 overs.
Though New Zealand picked up a couple of wickets later on, India (199/4) prevailed in 13.2 overs.
Team achievement
India set record for fastest team hundred in T20Is
India broke multiple records with their explosive batting display.
The Men in Blue set a new record for the fastest team hundred in men's T20Is, reaching the milestone in just five overs.
They also equaled the record for the fastest team 50, getting there in 2.2 overs.
Having piled up 118 runs, India also posted their highest-ever powerplay total.
India won the game with 40 balls to spare - the most by a Full Member team in a successful chase of 190 or more, as per Cricbuzz.
Bowlers
Summary of the Indian bowlers' performance
Bhuvneshwar Kumar went wicketless, conceding 40 runs in his four overs.
Prince Yadav also went for runs without taking a wicket, giving away 44 runs in his spell.
Arshdeep Singh was slightly more economical with figures of 1/33 from his four overs.
All-rounders Axar Patel and Nitish Kumar Reddy conceded 36 and 38 runs, respectively, while claiming a wicket each.
Abhishek
Abhishek's fourth hundred in the format
Abhishek hit nine fours and 11 sixes en route to his 113 off 38 balls.
The dasher now also owns the joint-second-most T20I tons (4).
The youngster is only behind Rohit Sharma and Glenn Maxwell, who have five such scores each.
With his third maximum in the game, Abhishek became the third Indian to complete 150 sixes in T20I cricket (now 158).
Stats
6,500 runs in T20 cricket
Abhishek also crossed the 6,500-run mark in T20 cricket during his stay (now 6,606).
While the southpaw averages around 33, his staggering strike rate of 178-plus is the best for any batter with at least 2,000 runs.
His tally of 11 tons is the most for any Indian in T20s.
Only West Indies's Chris Gayle (22) and Pakistan's Babar Azam (13) have registered more centuries in all T20 cricket.
Abhishek also has 40 half-centuries besides 429 sixes.
Arshdeep
Arshdeep Singh equals this T20I record
Arshdeep has equaled the record for the most T20I wickets in a calendar year by a player from a Full Member team.
In the current year, Arshdeep has been in phenomenal form, racing to 39 wickets across 30 games at an average of 25.
This puts him on par with Ireland's Joshua Little, who had achieved the same feat in 2022.
With this spell, Arshdeep has raced to 149 wickets from 102 T20Is at an incredible average of 20.50.
Mitchell
Mitchell completes 2,000 T20I runs with career-best 89*
Mitchell hit five fours and as many sixes en route to his career-best 52-ball 89*.
This was his ninth T20I fifty, which took him to 2,002 runs across 107 matches at 27.80 (SR: 141.68).
Mitchell became the sixth batter with 2,000-plus runs for the Kiwis. 506 of his runs have come across 23 matches versus India at 26.63 (50s: 2).
Jacobs
Jacobs also chips in with valuable 39*
Along with Mitchell, Bevon Jacobs also contributed significantly to New Zealand's innings.
He scored an unbeaten 39 off 23 balls, hitting four fours and a six in the process.
This knock took him to 311 runs across 14 T20Is at 34.55 (SR: 146).
Meanwhile, Allen's 40 off 25 balls has powered him to 1,764 T20I runs at 28.91. His strike rate is a stunning 170.10.
Records
More records scripted by Team India
India won the game with 40 balls to spare - the most by a Full Member team in a successful chase of 190 or more, as per Cricbuzz.