India thrashed New Zealand by six wickets in the third T20I at the Hnry Stadium in Wellington on Tuesday (October 27). This clinical victory gave the visitors an unassailable 3-0 lead to seal the five-match T20I series with two games to spare.
Chasing a challenging target of 199, India made an absolute mockery of the run chase by gunning down the total in just 13.2 overs. Opener Abhishek Sharma was the undisputed star of the match, blasting a jaw-dropping 113 runs off just 38 deliveries, including 11 towering sixes and 9 boundaries.
India began the chase in an aggressive manner, with Abhisek and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi scoring 26 runs in the opening over bowled by Jacob Duffy. The pair continued their assault, helping the tourists register the highest Powerplay total in men's T20I history -- 118/0.
While Sooryavanshi fell after scoring 45 off 19 balls, Abhisek continued his carnage and went on to notch up his fourth T20I hundred in just 35 balls.
Reflecting on India’s clinical performance, former India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik opined that the reigning T20 World Champions are light years ahead of the rest in the shortest format.
“What we have seen today is exceptional, to say the least. This is the No. 1-ranked team in the world, showing the rest of the cricketing nations why they are notches ahead of anybody even close to them. We have to understand that New Zealand were the finalists in the World Cup, and India have gone to their territory and absolutely slapped them across the face and said, ‘Hello, don’t even bother competing with us, because we are from a different stratosphere altogether. This is just extraordinary shot-making. India made it look too easy, they were playing like they were playing against U-13 cricketers," Karthik said on Cricbuzz.
He was effusive in praise of Abhishek Sharma’s scintillating display in the powerplay. “By now, we should be used to what he (Abhishek Sharma) can do in a powerplay. He goes after bowlers without any inhibitions whatsoever. He is making it a habit to get us off to great starts. The bowling unit feels like it is game over. When the first over was done, you almost felt like the game was done. India were just absolutely propelling forward like a rocket. By the time the fifth over came, New Zealand were deflated, they were gone, they knew that these guys are from a different planet altogether," Karthik added.
While Karthik was in awe of Indian batters' dominance, he strongly criticized the Kiwi bowlers for leaking runs by feeding the off-side boundary.
“We should laud how well India batted, but I thought New Zealand bowled poorly. They were getting hit to one side of the ground, the off side. But they kept giving width. They kept believing that they could get a wicket. I don’t know? I don’t think they bowled well, which begs the question of what the New Zealand bowling coach and the support staff were telling them?” he remarked.
