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Last Updated on 3 minutes ago by Charbel Coorey
Abhishek Sharma has sent another reminder of his world class talent, smashing 113 off 38 balls against New Zealand in Wellington. The opener made a mockery of the New Zealand bowling attack, with every member of the attack – except Mitchell Santner – going for well over 10 runs an over.
Abhishek combined with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (45 off 19 balls) for a remarkable opening stand off 133 off 43 balls. The pair brought up the hundred mark in five overs to leave Santner’s team shellshocked and staring at a certain series defeat.
That’s the way it transpired with India reaching the target of 199 with a whopping 40 balls to spare. Abhishek hit nine fours and 11 sixes in a scintillating stay, showing his ability to dominate attacks in overseas conditions as well.
The left-hander targeted the shorter square boundaries to perfection, with each of his 11 sixes coming square of the wicket. He hit six over the offside and five on the legside, with a remarkable ability to turn any length into one he can attack. He brought up his half-century off 15 balls and century off 35 balls.
“Key was pretty much simple – that me and Vaibhav enjoy our time,” Abhishek said after the match. “When we were fielding, we saw there was some extra bounce (and that we could target the shorter side).
“Huge shoutout to our coaching staff and our side-arm (bowlers). We had a good practice session yesterday and I just wanted to use it. I manifested this innings, and it happened.”
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner conceded that it is tough to stop India. The onslaught reminded him of the batting power seen in the Indian premier League (IPL).
“Tough to stop those guys. We have seen it in the IPL and witnessed it here tonight,” Santner said.
The dominant six-wicket win propelled India to an unassailable 3-0 series lead. That is some effort given they had such a short turnaround between their series against West Indies at home and this assignment in New Zealand.
Here are some of the reactions to a stunning knock.
WELL PLAYED ABHISHEK, A BRILLIANT, TERRIFIC AND STUNNING 100 BY U CHAMP 👏🏽👏🏽🔥🔥🥳🥳🕺🏽🕺🏽
— Starlord Vol.2 (@NotTheStarlord) October 27, 2026
Such s clinical performance from india to close out the series with 2 matches still to play.
— Prasanna (@prasannalara) October 27, 2026
Not a bad knock for a home-track bully or whatever Abhishek Sharma is called by casual fans.
— Sparsh Telang (@_cricketsparsh) October 27, 2026
Abhishek Sharma now has T20I fifties off
— Vijay Anaparthi (@VijayCricketFan) October 27, 2026
14 balls
15 balls
16 balls
17 balls
18 balls pic.twitter.com/iQDnXv1Wo4
Unreal pitch map. 300+ SR in 4/5 areas. pic.twitter.com/ahMWLEZ2LC
— Rohit Sankar (@imRohit_SN) October 27, 2026
35-ball ton for Abhishek. A privledge to watch it in real time
— tea_addIct (@on_drive2306) October 27, 2026
Abhishek Sharma is a freakish talent. Seriously astonishing batting. Could break his own record for the fastest T20I 100.
— Adam Bell 🇳🇿🇮🇹 (@AdamKerrBell) October 27, 2026
Fifty in 15 balls… No one really gets surprised by Abhishek anymore… He just keeps doing this like a normal thing
— arfan (@Im__Arfan) October 27, 2026
It's like a boxer tightening his gloves straps. What a knock, Abhishek Sharma. pic.twitter.com/7OrGaxPXDk
— Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) October 27, 2026
Abhishek Sharma has:
— R A T N I S H (@LoyalSachinFan) October 27, 2026
30 ball hundreds
35 balls hundreds
37 balls hundreds
This man is playing a different sport altogether. He is an absolute menace in T20I cricket.
Abhishek Sharma ridiculous player. No one in NZ can go from ball one like this. And he does it in all conditions.
— Dylan (@dylannnn08) October 27, 2026
Abhishek × Vaibhav 😍
— Bhawana (@cricbhawana) October 27, 2026
Two box-office six-hitters, pure carnage. This is crazy T20I batting. 🔥
Standards so crazy that a 35 ball hundreds seems slow
— Sagar (@sagarcasm) October 27, 2026
Abhishek Sharma 🔥 pic.twitter.com/eb6XfIO6d9
Vaibhav & Abhishek should be the most entertaining opening pair you can have currently in T20s
— arfan (@Im__Arfan) October 27, 2026
Abhishek Sharma surpasses Virat Kohli for the most T20 centuries among Indians with his 11th hundred in only 220 innings.#INDvsNZ
— Lalith Kalidas (@lal__kal) October 27, 2026