WATCH| Duffy checks Abhishek Sharma’s bat after his record fifty:Bumrah takes wicket with his first ball, Hardik’s flying catch; top moments records

The India vs New Zealand 3rd T20I in Guwahati on 25 January was an absolute blockbuster one, with the Men in Blue cruising to a victory. Chasing 154 to win, India achieved the target in just 10 overs, thanks to a sensational display of power-hitting from Abhishek Sharma (68 off 20 balls), captain Suryakumar Yadav (57 off 26) and Ishan Kishan (28 off 13). Batting first, New Zealand could only score 153 runs and in response, India finished the match with two wickets remaining and 60 balls to spare. With this win, Team India won the third T20, taking an unassailable 3-0 lead in the 5-match series, and also claimed their ninth consecutive T20 series. With this victory, India have gained an unassailable 3-0 series lead, winning their 11th consecutive T20I series or tournament, matching Pakistan’s record from 2016-18. Read the records and moments of the third T20 1. India won its 11th consecutive T20I series (or tournaments) India has won its 11th consecutive T20I series (or tournaments). Team India drew the series 2-2 against South Africa in December 2023, and since then, India has won 9 bilateral T20 series along with 2 tournaments. Since the defeat against West Indies in July 2023, the Indian team has remained unbeaten in 15 consecutive T20 series. Along with this, India defeated New Zealand in their fifth consecutive T20I series. The Kiwi team has not been able to win a single T20I series in India so far, while they last defeated India in a T20 series on their home ground in 2019. 2. India won the match with 60 balls remaining India achieved a target of more than 150 runs with 60 balls remaining. This is the biggest win ever while chasing such a large target against any full member team. Along with this, it also became the largest margin of victory while chasing any target against New Zealand. Before this, no team had been able to achieve the target against New Zealand within 10 overs, but India broke this record too. 3. Abhishek’s second fastest fifty for India Abhishek Sharma set a record for India’s second-fastest T20I fifty, scoring a half-century in just 14 balls against New Zealand. With this innings, he surpassed match-winners like Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul, and Suryakumar Yadav. The record for the fastest T20I fifty for India belongs to Yuvraj Singh, who scored a half-century in 12 balls against England in the 2007 T20 World Cup. Abhishek scored a fifty in 25 balls or less for the ninth time in his T20I career. In this regard, he has equaled captain Suryakumar Yadav. 4. India’s second-highest powerplay score India registered its second-highest powerplay score in T20I history, scoring 94/2 in the first 6 overs of the powerplay. This record is only behind the 95/1 scored against England at Wankhede Stadium in 2025. Notably, this also became the highest powerplay score by any team against New Zealand. India broke Australia’s record of 91/0, set in Auckland in 2018. 5. India’s fastest T20 team fifty India completed its team fifty in just 3.1 overs, setting a new record in T20I history. This is India’s fastest team fifty to date, surpassing the previous record of 3.4 overs set against Bangladesh in 2023. Before this, India had reached fifty several times in 3.5 overs, but in this match, the opening batsmen completely dominated the game in the first three overs. Now, the Moments… 1. Jacob Duffy checks Abhishek Sharma’s bat Jacob Duffy checked out Abhishek Sharma’s bat after the Indian opener smashed an unbeaten 20-ball 68. The left-hander scored a 14-ball fifty to power India to a win and after the match, Duffy and Sharma had a light-hearted exchange when the New Zealand pacer took a closer look at it before returning it back to him. 2. Conway out from Hardik’s diving catch Harshit Rana got India a wicket in the very first over of the innings. He bowled an out-swinger on a good length on the third ball of the over, which Devon Conway missed while trying to step out and play a big shot. Hardik Pandya, standing at mid-off, took a brilliant diving catch in the air, and Conway returned to the pavilion. Conway could only score 1 run. The special thing was that Harshit Rana dismissed him for the fifth time in the last 5 innings. Earlier, in the ODI series, Harshit had sent Conway back to the pavilion in all three matches. 3. Bumrah gets a wicket on the first ball Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah came to bowl for the first time in the sixth over and made an impact on the very first ball. He bowled an out-swinger on a good length, which Tim Seifert missed while trying to defend and was bowled. Seifert was out after scoring 12 runs. 4. Ishan and Abhishek opened their accounts with a six Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma opened their respective accounts with a six. In the first over, Ishan hit two consecutive sixes off Matt Henry’s third and fourth deliveries. First, he played a flick shot, and on the very next ball, he pulled it for another six. Ishan was out after scoring 28 runs. After this, in the second over of the Indian innings, Abhishek Sharma also opened his account with a six. He stepped forward on Jacob Duffy’s very first ball and hit a magnificent six over deep square leg. 6. Surya’s Supla Shot In the 5.3rd over, Suryakumar Yadav hit a six with his famous Supla shot off Jacob Duffy’s bowling. It was a slower off-cutter, full length outside the off-stump. Surya shuffled slightly inside the crease and played the shot across the line. The ball landed directly among the spectators over deep backward square leg. Watching this shot, coach Gautam Gambhir, sitting in the pavilion, was also seen shaking his head. He too couldn’t believe that Surya had so easily converted such a difficult ball into a six. Surya completed his second consecutive fifty with a boundary and also secured India’s victory with that boundary.