India came out all guns blazing at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati as they thrashed New Zealand by 8 wickets with 10 overs to spare to emphatically seal the series 3-0 with 2 games to go in this 5-match series. India outplayed, out bowled and out batted the Kiwis in all facets of the game last night and deserves the win that they achieved. At first, they put New Zealand into bat first and restricted them to 153/9 thanks to Jasprit Bumrah’s magical figures of 3/17 in 4 overs ably supported by Ravi Bishnoi and Hardik Pandya both picked 2 wickets apiece.
In the chase, India lost Sanju Samson off the first ball of the innings to Matt Henry. But Abhishek Sharma blazed away to a 14-ball fifty remained unbeaten on 68 off 20 balls while Ishan Kishan played a quick cameo of 28 off 13 balls while captain Suryakumar Yadav played his part and remained unbeaten on 57 off 26 balls as India romped home inside 10 overs to thrash the Kiwis. The Men in Blue lead the series 3-0 with 2 games left to play in the series.
Jasprit Bumrah’s 3-wicket haul restricts New Zealand to 153/9
Put into bat first, Devon Conway and keeper batter Tim Seifert came out to bat for New Zealand while Harshit Rana took the new ball for India. Rana made immediate impact as he picked up Conway for the 5th time in this series across formats for 1 off 2 balls as the Kiwis were 2/1 in 3 balls and rocked early. Rachin Ravindra came out to bat next. Seifert and Ravindra added 11 runs to the score before Ravindra fell in the second over of the game for 4 off 5 balls with one boundary to his name to Hardik Pandya. Glenn Phillips came out to bat next.
Seifert and Phillips tried to build a partnership with Phillips quickly off the blocks while Seifert went at almost run a ball. The partnership was the need of the hour for the visitors. The duo put on 21 for the third wicket before Seifert was cleaned up first ball of the 6th over by Jasprit Bumrah for 12 off 11 balls with one boundary to his name. Mark Chapman came to the crease next. The powerplay score for New Zealand was 36/3 in 6 overs.
The duo of Phillips and Chapman tried to build a partnership in the middle phase of the game as India bowled really well out there. The duo took New Zealand into the second half of the innings with New Zealand reaching a decent 75/3 in 10 overs at the halfway stage of the innings at the Drinks Break. The duo complimented each other well and played at a decent tempo. They put on 52 for the 4th wicket before Chapman was dismissed for 32 off 23 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes to his name to comeback man Ravi Bishnoi.
Daryl Mitchell came out to bat next with the score at 86/4 in 12 overs. Mitchell started on the front foot by attacking the Indian bowlers especially Kuldeep Yadav. The duo of Phillips and Mitchell tried to string in a partnership and added 26 runs for the 5th wicket before Mitchell fell for 14 off 8 balls with one four and one six to his name to Hardik Pandya. Captain Mitchell Santner came out to bat next. 3 balls later with no addition of runs, New Zealand lost the well set Phillips for 48 off 40 balls with 6 fours and one six to his name to Bishnoi.
New Zealand were 112/6 in 15.1 overs when Kyle Jamieson joined his skipper Santner in the middle. Jamieson was a mere spectator as Santner tried to score and get New Zealand a competitive total. The duo added 20 runs for the 7th wicket before Jamieson fell for 3 off 5 balls as he was cleaned up by Bumrah. Matt Henry came out to bat next with the score at 132/7 in 17.2 overs. Just 2 runs were added to the score before Henry fell for 1 off 1 ball run out as the Kiwis now were 134/8 in 17.4 overs.
Ish Sodhi came out to bat to join Santner in the middle. Santner was still trying to give the score some sort of respectability and added 10 more runs to the score before he fell for a good looking 27 off 17 balls with 3 fours and one six to his name to Bumrah yet again. New Zealand were 9 down for 144 with 5 balls left. Jacob Duffy walked out to bat at 11.
The duo managed to eke out 9 runs off the last 5 balls to take the score of New Zealand past 150 as they ended with a competitive but below par 153/9 in 20 overs. Sodhi was unbeaten on 2 off 5 balls while Duffy was unbeaten on 4 off 3 balls. 5 extras given by the Indian team.
The Indian bowlers bowled well and the pick of them was their spearhead Jasprit Bumrah who finished with 3/17 in 4 overs. He was ably supported by Ravi Bishnoi who finished with 2/18 in 4 overs. Hardik Pandya bowled well for his 2/23 in 3 overs. Harshit Rana finished with 1/35 in 4 overs. Kuldeep Yadav gave away 32 runs in 3 overs while Shivam Dube’s 2 overs went for 24 runs. This meant that India needed 154 to win off 20 overs to seal the series 3-0 with 2 games to spare.
Blazing fifties from Abhishek Sharma & Suryakumar Yadav takes India over the finishing line inside 10 overs
Chasing 154 for the win, keeper batter Sanju Samson came out to open the batting with Abhishek Sharma while Matt Henry had ball in hand for New Zealand. India got off to the worst possible start as Samson was cleaned up first ball by Matt Henry. Ishan Kishan came out to bat at 3 and one would have thought India would go slowly and consolidate a little. But consolidation is not a word in dictionary for the current crop of Indian players in T20Is.
Ishan Kishan was off the blocks quickly smashing sixes for fun and clearing the ground comfortably while Abhishek was at his usual best as he got off the mark with the maximum. Both the southpaws complimented each other well and it was hard to say who was the aggressor when these two were batting together. Abhishek was also hitting long balls and got off the mark with a maximum. There was no looking back as India plundered in the powerplay.
The duo took the score from 0/1 after the first ball and raced away to 53 when Ishan Kishan’s innings was cut short on 28 off 13 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes to his name to Ish Sodhi as India lost their second inside the powerplay but the required rate was now very much under control. Captain Suryakumar Yadav came out to bat next in the 4th over. Surya took his time initially as Abhishek was the aggressor of the two and tearing apart the bowling.
New Zealand did not know what hit them as Abhishek was just on a roll while Surya after playing the first 8-9 balls also switched gears as attack came from both ends. India raced away to 94/2 in 6 overs of powerplay and the writing was on the wall in this position only. The duo did not slow down in the middle phase either and went hammer and tongs to make a statement to the rest of the world. Abhishek reached his fifty in 14 balls second fastest to Yuvraj Singh who achieved the milestone in 12 balls way back in 2007.
Surya was also in a hurry to finish things off and it was the Surya of old that we witnessed. It was great to see India’s approach and template that despite losing early wickets inside powerplay, they go for it from both ends and there is no scope for consolidation. The duo were unstoppable as New Zealand ran short of ideas soon. Big overs were just a regular affair.
India in the next 4 overs after powerplay scored 61 runs to seal the deal as Suryakumar Yadav finished things off with back-to-back boundaries as he completed back-to-back boundaries to end the contest. Abhishek was unbeaten on 68 off 20 balls with 7 fours and 5 sixes to his name while the captain Surya was unbeaten on 57 off 26 balls with 6 fours and 3 sixes to his name as India romped home finishing with 155/2 in a mere 10 overs to win the game by 8 wickets with 60 balls left.
It was a hard day at the office for the New Zealand bowlers. Matt Henry picked up one wicket and finished with 1/28 in 2 overs. Ish Sodhi got the other wicket as he finished with 1/28 in 2 overs. Jacob Duffy’s 2 overs went for 38 runs. Kyle Jamieson’s only over went for 17 runs. Mitchell Santner went for 28 in 2 overs. Glenn Phillips only over went for 16 runs. So, India win by 8 wickets with 60 balls left to seal series 3-0 with 2 games to spare. Jasprit Bumrah was awarded the Player of the Match award.
What Lies Ahead
So, India have sealed the T20I series 3-0 with 2 games to spare. These two games will be a preparation for both teams ahead of T20 World Cup 2026. India will rotate the squad and would like to keep winning to make statements while New Zealand will play for pride in the next two games. The next T20I takes place on 28th January, 2026 in Visakhapatnam from 7 PM IST onwards. Can New Zealand stop the Indian juggernaut? Or will India continue to win matches?
Find the answer on Wednesday night in the coastal city of Visakhapatnam.
Also Read:Â IND vs NZ: Ishan Kishan & Suryakumar Yadav Powers India To 2-0 Lead With Impressive Win