Abhishek Sharma blazed away under the dazzling lights in Nagpur as he played a superb knock yet again to power India forward. Abhishek Sharma was timing it from the word go and became better and better as the innings wore on as he put on a masterclass to marvel as a spectator. His breath-taking 84 off 35 balls alongside whirlwind finishing from Rinku Singh that helped India get to a massive 238/7 in 50 overs which is the highest score in T20Is against New Zealand for India.
In the run chase, Glenn Phillips almost pulled off a stunning innings as he scored 78 off 40 balls but his innings went in vain as the others also chipped in for New Zealand to get to 190/7 in 20 overs. India bowled decently with Varun Chakaravarthy and Shivam Dube picking up 2 wickets apiece while others chipped in as well. It was a spirited chase from New Zealand and India also dropped a few catches yet again, but in the end it is a win for India by 48 runs.
Abhishek Sharma’s magical half-century powers India to massive 238/7Â
Put into bat first, keeper batter Sanju Samson came out to bat alongside Abhishek Sharma. India came out flying as is their template as we know. Sanju was aggressive from the get go. But the opening duo could add only 18 runs for the first wicket inside 2 overs before Samson fell to Kyle Jamieson for 10 off 7 balls with 2 fours to his name as he chipped it straight to short midwicket. Ishan Kishan came out to bat next and got off the mark with a boundary.
But Ishan hit another boundary as the duo added 9 runs to the score before Kishan fell spooning a ball to the cover fielder for 8 off 5 balls with 2 fours to his name off Jacob Duffy. Captain Suryakumar Yadav came out to bat next and got off the mark with a boundary. Abhishek continued his merry ways while Surya looked a lot fluent after a long time. The powerplay score at the end of 6 overs for India was 68/2.
Surya was a mere spectator at the other end as he looked fluent than earlier innings in the middle phase but it was the Abhishek Sharma show yet again as he completed his fifty in 22 balls and was looking unstoppable at the moment. Surya also hit a typical Supla shot for the maximum. The duo formed a good partnership and laid the platform for the batters to follow. They put on 99 for the 3rd wicket in quick time before the captain fell for a good looking 32 off 22 balls with 4 fours and one six to his name. Hardik Pandya came out to bat next.
Hardik made his intentions clear by going down the track and hitting for a boundary past the umpire hard. Abhishek was looking unstoppable and cleared the ground comfortably. He was the man who was single-handedly powering India forward. The duo put on 23 in quick time before Abhishek’s innings came to an end for 84 off 35 balls with 5 fours and 8 sixes to his name as Ish Sodhi got his man. The score was 149/4 in 12 overs.
Shivam Dube came out to bat next. He too managed to clear the ground over square leg for the maximum. Hardik was playing his natural game as the duo added 17 runs for the 5th wicket before Dube fell for 9 off 4Â balls with one six to his name to Kyle Jamieson. Rinku Singh came out to bat next to join Pandya. Pandya was aggressive while Rinku took his time to build his innings. Hardik was great to watch and was playing well as the duo added 19 runs for the 6th wicket before Hardik’s innings was cut short on 25 off 16 balls with 3 fours and one six to his name.
Axar Patel came out to bat next and was happy to give the strike to Rinku Singh. The duo took their time initially and then Rinku played a few shots to keep the momentum going for the Indian team. Axar was struggling till he was there. The duo of Rinku and Axar added 24 runs for the 7th wicket before Axar fell for 5 off 5 balls to Kristian Clarke. Arshdeep Singh came out to bat with the score at 209/7 in 17.5 overs.
Arshdeep managed to hit a boundary down the ground to keep the scoreboard ticking. But then Rinku showed the finisher he is made of as he was in the zone and was set to face the last over to be bowled by Daryl Mitchell for the first time in the innings. Rinku clobbered him for two sixes and two fours in the overs with a wide in between as 21 runs came off the final over of the innings. Rinku Singh remained unbeaten on 44 off 20 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes to his name while Arshdeep Singh was unbeaten on 6 off 6 balls with one four to his name as India finished with 238/7 in 20 overs. 15 extras given by the bowling side.
Jacob Duffy was the pick of the bowlers for New Zealand with impressive figures of 2/27 in 4 overs. Kyle Jamieson picked up 2 wickets but went for 54 runs in his 4 overs. Kristian Clarke finished with 1/40 in 4 overs. Ish Sodhi finished with 1/38 in 3 overs. Mitchell Santner finished with 1/37 in 3 overs. Glenn Phillips bowled an over for 20 runs while Daryl Mitchell’s only over went for 21 runs. This meant that New Zealand now needed 239 to win off 20 overs for a record run chase as India made their highest T20I score against the Kiwis.
Glenn Phillips’ magical half century goes in vain as India upstage New Zealand to draw first blood in series.Â
Chasing a massive 239 for the win, Devon Conway and Tim Robinson came out to bat for New Zealand while Arshdeep Singh had ball in hand for India. Arshdeep struck early for India in the second ball of the innings as he got the edge of Conway through to Sanju Samson who took a blinder behind the stumps. Rachin Ravindra came out to bat next. Just one run was added to the score before Ravindra fell for 1 off 5 balls to Hardik Pandya as Abhishek Sharma took the catch at first slip.
Glenn Phillips came out to bat next. Phillips and Robinson built a partnership but with 2 down early in the massive chase, New Zealand were always behind the chase. Phillips was the aggressor and was on the go straightaway before Robinson too was playing well. New Zealand brought up their 50 in 6 overs and were 50/2 in 6 overs. Just after the powerplay after the duo put on 51 for the third wicket before Robinson fell for 21 off 15 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name to Varun Chakaravarthy. Mark Chapman came out to bat next.
Phillips and Chapman built a solid stand and started to put the Indians under some pressure. But India was always in control with the runs on the board. They played the middle phase and played it quite well. Phillips completed his half century and accelerated throughout the innings. Phillips was the dominant partner while Chapman played second fiddle out there. The duo added 79 runs for the 4th wicket before Phillips’ brave innings came to an end for 78 off 40 balls with 4 fours and 6 sixes to his name to Axar Patel.
Daryl Mitchell came out to bat finally at 6 in the 14th over which was a few positions down the order. The duo of Chapman and Mitchell added 12 runs for the 5th wicket before Chapman fell as well for 39 off 24 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes to his name to Varun Chakaravarthy. Captain Mitchell Santner came out to bat next. The score was 143/5 in 14.5 overs when the duo of Mitchell and Santner came to the middle.
They played a few shots and entertained the crowd that was ever present out there in Nagpur. Mitchell and Santner played some lovely shots some innovative ones as well as they put on 46 for the 6th wicket before Mitchell went for 28 off 18 balls with 4 fours to his name to Shivam Dube as substitute fielder Ravi Bishnoi took a brilliant catch. Kristian Clarke came out to bat next and fell first ball to Dube as the bowler was on a hat-trick. Kyle Jamieson came out to bat next and survived the hat-trick ball.
Mitchell Santner the captain remained unbeaten on 20 off 13 balls with 2 fours to his name while Kyle Jamieson remained unbeaten on 1 off 2 balls as New Zealand finished with 190/7 in 20 overs a good reply but still 48 runs short of the target. Just 2 extras given by the fielding side.
The Indian bowlers bowled decently on a belter of a track. Varun Chakaravarthy finished with 2/37 in 4 overs. Shivam Dube finished with 2/28 in 3 overs. Arshdeep Singh finished with 1/31 in 4 overs. Hardik Pandya finished with 1/20 in 2 overs. Axar Patel bowled 3.3 overs and picked up 1/42 before going off the field with a finger injury. Abhishek Sharma bowled 3 balls for 3 runs to complete Axar’s over. So, India win by 48 runs to go 1-0 up in the 5-match series. Abhishek Sharma was adjudged the Player of the Match.
What Lies Ahead
So, India draw first blood in this 5-match series winning by 48 runs to go 1-0 up with 4 matches to play. The next game takes place on Friday 23rd January, 2026 from 7 PM IST onwards live from Raipur. India will look to take a 2-0 lead in the series while New Zealand will hope to bounce back and level the series 1-1. Which way is it going to go on Friday night? Only time will tell.
Let’s see how things pan out for both teams going forward.
Also Read:Â IND vs NZ: India Aims To Fine Tune Their Skills Against New Zealand Ahead Of T20 WC 2026