IND vs NZ, 3rd T20I: Abhishek, Surya, Bumrah decimate New Zealand to seal series win
Whenever a team is on a roll, almost every change it makes seems to click. For the third T20 international against New Zealand at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati on Sunday, India gave Ravi Bishnoi a chance by resting its trump card Varun Chakaravarthy.
Playing his first international match in nearly 11 months, the 25-year-old showed no signs of rust as he delivered a fantastic spell of two for 18 and, alongside the imperious Jasprit Bumrah (three for 17), ensured the Men in Blue restricted the Kiwis to just 153 for nine.
The bowlers had beaten the eggs and baked the cake, and needed the batters just to apply the icing and place the cherry on top.
Abhishek Sharma (68 n.o.) and skipper Suryakumar Yadav (57 n.o.) just did that while also gobbling the pastry in a flash.
The duo clobbered a hapless Kiwi attack all over the park and chased down the target in just 10 overs to script a sensational eight-wicket win as India clinched a ninth consecutive T20 series (3-0).
Though Sanju Samson was dismissed off the first ball of the chase, Ishan Kishan and Abhishek quickly extinguished any faint hopes that the Kiwis might have had of at least trying to make India work hard.
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Ishan smashed Matt Henry over the leg-side for two sixes and a four in the first over to set the ball rolling. From there on, Abhishek took over, belting out his best hits.
It included everything from bludgeoning hits over the leg-side, audacious sliced shots through the off-side and clean hits down the ground, leaving the Kiwi pacers shell-shocked. By the time he picked Jacob Duffy over square-leg for his fourth maximum, Abhishek posted the second-fastest half-century by an Indian (in 14 balls). From there, Suryakumar, who has finally found form in this series, took over, scoring another unbeaten half-century to seal the contest in style.
Earlier, put in to bat, things started going downhill for New Zealand from the first over when Harshit Rana dismissed Devon Conway for the fifth time on this tour. It was almost a harbinger of things to come. Most of the New Zealand batters struggled with their timing and kept getting caught out in the deep.
Bishnoi tied down both Mark Chapman and Glenn Phillips, both of whom struggled even to rotate strike. At the other end, Bumrah was at his absolute best, giving no inches as the visitors meandered to a sub-par total. The Indian batters then put the bow on it.
Published on Jan 25, 2026
