India’s T20I captain Shreyas Iyer described the batting performances of Abhishek Sharma and 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as ‘absolutely stunning’ after their explosive start propelled India to a six-wicket victory over New Zealand in the third T20I on Tuesday, securing an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.
“Absolutely stunning. It was pleasing to the eyes the way they played strokes. Also, when Sanju and I went to bat, the ball was seaming, and I was like, how did they manage this? It was simply mind-boggling,” Iyer said during the post-match presentation.
Sharma scored a blistering 113 runs off just 38 balls, including 11 sixes and nine fours, while Sooryavanshi contributed 45 runs from 19 deliveries as India chased down New Zealand’s target of 199 in 13.2 overs, with 40 balls remaining.
When asked if this batting display was the best he had witnessed, Iyer responded that the scoring rate was extraordinary, even by international standards. “Honestly speaking, getting 100 in 5 overs, I’ve never seen that before, especially at the international level. And definitely tops it,” he said.
India began aggressively, with Sharma and Sooryavanshi scoring 26 runs in the opening over bowled by Jacob Duffy. The pair continued their assault, taking India to 64 without loss in three overs and 118 without loss at the end of the Powerplay.
Sharma reached his half-century off 15 balls and completed his century in 35 deliveries. Sooryavanshi was dismissed for 45 by Matthew Fisher in the eighth over, but Sharma maintained the momentum alongside Sanju Samson.
Iyer emphasised the significance of the performance given the challenges of playing overseas. “I think it’s essential, especially coming overseas. You know the conditions are going to be different, and you’ll be challenged with a lot of different deliveries. And just to overcome this by such phenomenal performance, credit where it’s due, the way they played today, it was exceptional. And obviously, winning the series with the third match and two more to go, I hope that they keep continuing with the same form, and yes, it’s just amazing the way the lads pulled up to this occasion. Jet lag at the start and then the way they fitted to the occasion, mind-boggling,” he said.
Earlier, New Zealand posted 198 for three after being asked to bat first, with Daryl Mitchell top-scoring with an unbeaten 89 off 52 balls. Bevon Jacobs made 39 runs from 23 deliveries, while Finn Allen contributed 40 off 25 balls. Mitchell and Jacobs shared a 75-run partnership for the fourth wicket to reach a competitive total.
Iyer explained India’s bowling strategy as New Zealand’s batsmen scored freely. “So after 10 overs, I realised that anything they were bowling, hard length or even half volleys, it was going into the stands. I just said, try and bowl yorkers as much as possible, even if you bowl six-ball yorkers. Make them hit down the ground, or a wide yorker is going to help us on this wicket. So, yeah, we were able to execute that and minimise that run rate to eight to nine; that helped us a lot to keep them at 10 runs an over. And yeah, our plan was to restrict them under 200,” he said.
For India, Arshdeep Singh, Axar Patel and Nitish Kumar Reddy took one wicket each. New Zealand pacer Kyle Jamieson claimed two wickets, while Matthew Fisher and Mitchell Santner took one apiece.
With the series already secured at 3-0, India will seek to maintain their winning momentum in the remaining two matches. New Zealand, meanwhile, will aim to recover in the forthcoming games.