India chased 199 in 13.2 overs to beat New Zealand by six wickets and seal the series in Wellington, according to the ICC's 27 October report. Abhishek Sharma and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi supplied the decisive opening stand.
Abhishek drives the Wellington chase
The ICC's 27 October account says Abhishek Sharma scored 113 and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 45, then shared a 133-run opening stand off 43 deliveries. Sooryavanshi opened in place of Sanju Samson, and both batters attacked from the start. The stand gave India control of the chase before either opener was dismissed.
The ICC's 27 October report says India's openers scored 118 in the six-over powerplay while pursuing New Zealand's 198/3. Their scoring rate left the hosts chasing wickets as well as trying to contain boundaries. India completed the pursuit with a substantial part of the allotted innings unused.
The ICC's 27 October report puts Daryl Mitchell on an unbeaten 89 from 52 balls, with Finn Allen contributing 40 and Bevon Jacobs 39. Mitchell's innings gave New Zealand a formidable total, but it was overtaken before the final overs. His unbeaten contribution was the hosts' largest individual score.
India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar said in the ICC's post-match account that Abhishek's powerplay batting "takes a lot of skill". Kumar's comment followed an innings in which the openers set a pace New Zealand could not match with the ball.
A different route from the previous win
The ICC's 24 October report says India won the previous T20I in Christchurch by four wickets and moved 2–0 ahead. That chase required a late recovery led by Tilak Varma and Nitish Kumar Reddy. Wellington brought a different shape to the victory: India's opening pair did most of the work before the middle order arrived.
SportsRivo checked the New Zealand Cricket archive's Wellington scorecard and found that Mitchell Santner alone among the home bowlers was not hit for a boundary. His spell stands apart from the rest of the attack's figures, even though it could not prevent the series-clinching result.
The series and chase record
- The ICC's 27 October report confirms a 3–0 series lead, so New Zealand cannot overhaul India in this series. The remaining games will determine the final margin.
- The ICC's 27 October account ranks the chase second quickest for targets of at least 190 in men's T20Is, with 40 balls remaining. That mark puts the Wellington pursuit among the fastest successful chases at this scoring threshold.
Auckland hosts the next meeting
The ICC's 27 October schedule lists Friday, 30 October in Auckland as the next meeting, with the final game scheduled in Hamilton. India will arrive with the series secured; New Zealand still have matches in which to respond to the Wellington defeat.
Source: ICC