Abhishek Sharma Stars as India Dominates NZ in 1st T20

The Indian cricket team beat New Zealand by 48 runs at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur on Wednesday to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match IND vs NZ T20 2026 series. Powered by Abhishek Sharma’s 35-ball 84 and Rinku Singh’s late surge, India posted 238/7 - their highest T20I score against New Zealand. Varun Chakravarthy, with 2/37, helped the Indian bowlers contain the visitors to 190/7 despite a defiant 78 off 40 by Glenn Phillips. Sent in to bat first, world No. 1 India looked to make a blazing start with openers Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma looking to hit top gear right from the outset against the fourth-ranked New Zealand. The Kiwi pacers, however, drove a wedge into the plans and dealt the hosts a double blow early. Samson (10) departed in the second over while trying to hit Kyle Jamieson over midwicket. In the next over, Ishan Kishan - playing his first T20 cricket match for India in almost three years - managed just eight before drilling a catch to cover off Jacob Duffy. With India at 27/2, Abhishek Sharma took charge and went on a rampage at the other end. He brought up his seventh T20I half-century in just 22 balls - the fastest 50 by any Indian in the format against the Kiwis. Abhishek Sharma found an able partner in Suryakumar Yadav, who was playing his 100th T20I match. The Indian T20 captain looked in good touch before being caught in the deep off Mitchell Santner for 32. Abhishek continued his onslaught and took the game to the opposition bowlers. He was finally dismissed for 84 off 35 balls by Ish Sodhi in the 12th over. However, the knock had already put India in a favourable position with 149/4 on the board. The 25-year-old Abhishek’s blistering knock featured eight maximums and five boundaries and was scored at a strike rate of 240. India’s innings lost some of its momentum after Abhishek’s dismissal as Hardik Pandya (25) and Shivam Dube (9) failed to take off after starts. Rinku Singh, though, played a late cameo (44 not out off 20) to take the hosts to 238/7 - India’s highest T20 score against the New Zealand cricket team. Arshdeep Singh gave India a good start as he accounted for Devon Conway for a duck with the second ball of his opening over. Hardik Pandya made further inroads by sending back Rachin Ravindra in the very next over. Glenn Phillips, however, stood as the lone hurdle in front of the Indian bowlers as he put together decent partnerships, first with Tim Robinson and then with Mark Chapman. Philips brought up his 50 off 29 balls and started to accelerate but Axar Patel cut his rampage short in the 14th after having the Kiwi batter caught for 78. The visitors were at 131/4 following his dismissal. World No. 1 T20I bowler Varun Chakravarthy, who had dismissed Robinson to break a flourishing partnership earlier, also outfoxed Chapman for 39 just as the Kiwi batter was starting to look dangerous. Philips and Chapman’s wickets in consecutive overs took the sting out of New Zealand’s chase. Daryl Mitchell and Santner managed to get off some big hits but it was a little too late to make a difference to the final outcome. Shivam Dube picked up two wickets in the last over as New Zealand finished at 190/7 in 20 overs. The second game of the series will be played in Raipur on Friday. The five-match series is India’s last assignment before the T20 World Cup 2026 begins on February 7.