IND vs NZ 3rd T20I Match Highlights: The Indian cricket team blew away New Zealand with a dominant eight-wicket win in the third match to seal the IND vs NZ T20 2026 series at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati on Sunday.
Abhishek Sharma (68 not out off 20) and Suryakumar Yadav (57 not out off 26) starred with the bat for India, while Jasprit Bumrah was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with figures of 3/17 in his four overs.
Chasing 154 to win, India were stung with the very first ball of the innings after Matt Henry bowled Sanju Samson for a golden duck.
Samson’s removal had little to no impact on India’s chase as Ishan Kishan came out all guns blazing, smashing a quickfire 28 off 13 balls before falling to Ish Sodhi in the fourth over.
Despite two wickets in the opening four overs, New Zealand couldn’t halt India’s momentum with Abhishek Sharma at his belligerent best.
The hard-hitting left-hander mostly dealt in boundaries and brought up his fifty off just 14 balls—the second-fastest by an Indian, trailing only his mentor Yuvraj Singh’s legendary 12-ball effort.
Abhishek’s power-hitting propelled India to 94/2 at the end of the first six overs, marking their second-highest powerplay score in T20I history.
Abhishek was joined by captain Suryakumar Yadav, who also got in on the action, dismantling the Kiwi attack with his trademark 360-degree strokeplay.
Yadav reached his second consecutive half-century of the series in 25 balls, finishing the game with a boundary to help India seal the win in exactly 10 overs. It was the fastest run chase of 150 or more by a full member nation in T20I history.
Earlier, after winning the toss and opting to bowl, India restricted New Zealand to 153/9. The visitors were pushed on the backfoot from the start following the departures of Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra inside the first two overs.
Glenn Phillips (48 off 40) and Mark Chapman (32 off 23) looked to counter-attack and managed a 52-run partnership to steady the ship. However, Ravi Bishnoi (2/18) and Hardik Pandya (2/23) struck at crucial intervals to ensure the Black Caps never reached a competitive total.
Jasprit Bumrah, returning to the XI, was clinical at the death, removing Mitchell Santner and Kyle Jamieson to prevent a late surge.
The victory gives India an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series, with the remaining games scheduled to be played in Vizag.
Brief scores: New Zealand 153/9 in 20 overs (Glenn Phillips 48; Jasprit Bumrah 3/17, Ravi Bishnoi 2/18) lost to India 155/2 in 10 overs (Abhishek Sharma 68*, Suryakumar Yadav 57*) by 8 wickets
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