IND vs NZ T20I: Abhishek’s six-hitting blitz helps Men in Blue go one up

Abhishek Sharma has a lovely bat swing. And he swung it well at the VCA Stadium on Wednesday (January 21, 2026).

His 35-ball 84 propelled India to 238 for seven in 20 overs, setting up the home team’s 48-run victory over New Zealand in the first T20I.

Glenn Phillips (78, 40b, 4×4, 6×6) put up a brave fight, but it was not going to be enough as the visitors could only manage 190 for seven in 20 overs.

The Indian batters played with intent and freedom, having full faith in the extent of their batting order. New Zealand chipping away with wickets did not deter the hosts as they took the aggressive route throughout the whirlwind innings.

Abhishek often charged down the track and gave himself room to confuse the bowlers. The Indian opener hit more sixes than fours (5×4, 8×6) in his entertaining essay. Two of Abhishek’s boundaries came when Kiwi debutant Kristian Clarke misjudged and misfielded near the fence off Phillips’ lone over, which went for 20 runs.

Apart from Abhishek and Suryakumar Yadav’s 99-run third-wicket stand, the hosts did not have a big partnership. The India skipper, during his 22-ball 32 (4×4, 1×6), showed promise of returning to form, particularly when he unfurled his signature pick-up shot for a six off Clarke.

Abhishek couldn’t capitalise on the tough chance dropped by Daryl Mitchell as Ish Sodhi got the opener caught at long-on in the same over. Abhishek, however, was only dismissed after he sealed the record for being the fastest to 5,000 T20 runs in terms of balls faced (2,898). He broke West Indian all-rounder Andre Russell’s mark of 2,942 balls.

India losing wickets regularly did not affect the scoring rate. New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner’s decision to bring on Mitchell for the final over proved catastrophic as Rinku Singh (44 n.o., 20b, 4×4, 3×6) took full toll on the medium-pacer. Mitchell went for 21 runs as Rinku underlined why he is one of the best bets to bat in the death overs. Jacob Duffy was the only Kiwi bowler to return with decent figures (4-0-27-2).

The Black Caps’ marathon chase had a wobbly start. While Devon Conway was caught behind off Arshdeep Singh (4-0-31-1) off the second ball, Rachin Ravindra departed in the second over when Hardik Pandya had him caught at first slip.

Chasing 239 with the scoreline reading one for two was a near-impossible task. Phillips’ two good partnerships — a 51-run stand with Tim Robinson and a 79-run association with Mark Chapman — would have given hope to New Zealand fans back home who woke up early to watch the match.

Those hopes would have quickly faded once Axar had Phillips caught at long-on in the 14th over.

Axar not being able to complete his fourth over (16th) after injuring his bowling hand will be a matter of concern for the Men in Blue.

A collective bowling performance — on a track that favoured the willow-wielders — was enough to ensure that India had a fruitful outing at the Orange City.