Published: January 21, 2026 at 11:17 pm
“Nowadays, Abhishek Sharma’s reputation as a fearless willow wielder arrives before he does to the crease. There is a fear of him, the kind that Rohit Sharma had in this format,” said former India player Akash Chopra ahead of the first T20I between India and New Zealand.
The opener proved Akash true as he smashed a 35-ball 84 to power India to a handsome 48-run win over the Kiwis to go 1-0 up in the five-match series at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur on Wednesday night.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad opener showed that he is ready for the T20 World Cup with a scintillating knock that took India to 238 for seven, after being asked to bat first. The Kiwis could not match the pace of the Indians and folded up 190 for seven.
“Always good when we bat first, put on runs and defend with dew. All batters played their roles very well, which was a plus point. I felt good when I went into bat. I’ve been batting well in the nets. It was a matter of continuing that and not changing my identity. Last 2-3 weeks, I’ve been hitting it well. Fingers crossed for Abhishek doing well. The way he prepares himself and carries himself is great, nice to see it flowing on here,” said India skipper Suryakumar Yadav.
India did not have a great start as Sanju Samson (10) and Ishan Kishan (8) departed without much ado. However, Abhishek was unfazed by it and with Suryakumar tore the rival attack apart. Abhishek and Suryakumar, who hearteningly enough got some runs against his name to take the monkey off his back, added 99 off 47 balls for the third wicket.
Abhishek outshines skipper Suryakumar
The skipper let his younger partner do the bashing around as Abhishek struck five boundaries and eight mighty sixes in his 35-ball 84. Surya fell for a 22-ball 32.
Hardik Pandya played a good hand with a 16-ball 25 but it was Rinku Singh who stole the thunder at the end of the innings. With Tilak Varma not available, Rinku got a chance and the Uttar Pradesh lad grabbed it with both hands. He hammered three sixes and four boundaries in his 20-ball unbeaten 44.
“We had a plan from day one and are just following it. I’ve figured out if you want to hit all balls or strike at 200, you have to carry intent. All teams have a plan for me. It’s about my preparation. I’m going to back my instinct. I don’t feel my role is high-risk, wouldn’t say this is my comfort zone. But I’ve been practising to go big in the first six. I never do range-hitting. I’m more of a timing batter; I need to watch the ball and get used to the conditions. For it, I plan in my net session. I feel, if you watch your batting videos, you get an idea of where the bowler bowls to you. I enjoy slip fielding, have been working with Dilip sir,” Abhishek said after the game.
New Zealand had a poor start, losing Devon Conway (0) off the second ball of the innings. He was brilliantly caught by wicketkeeper Sanju Samson, who made amends for his poor show with the bat, off Arshdeep Singh.
Rachin Ravindra (1) to fell cheaply and it was left to Glenn Phillips to salvage the innings. He added 51 off 30 balls with Tim Robinson (21) and 79 off 42 balls for the fourth wicket with Mark Chapman (39) but the task was too huge for him. He fell for a 40-ball 78 which contained four boundaries and six over it.
https://khelkhiladis.com/suryakumar-needs-to-give-himself-some-more-time/
Daryl Mitchell (28), the hero of the ODI series, and skipper Mitchell Santner (20 no) added 48 for the sixth wicket but it was never going to be sufficient.
“You gotta win, good hit out for us. India’s record last two years is outstanding. GP’s knock, Chappy’s knock I was happy with. We were put under pressure with the ball. Have to be on from ball one against India. Mitchell bowling the final over was how it worked out as they took on spin. Duffy has shown his class. I still like batting at 8, we’ve got more guys to come in,” said Santner after the game.
SCOREBOARD
India: Sanju Samson c Ravindra b Jamieson 10, Abhishek Sharma c Jamieson b Sodhi 84, Ishan Kishan c Champman b Duffy 8, Suryakumar Yadav c Robinson b Santner 32, Hardik Pandya c Champman b Duffy 25, Shivam Dube c & b Jamieson 9, Rinku Singh (not out) 44, Axar Patel c Mitchell b Clarke 5, Arshdeep Singh (not out) 6; Extras: (LB1, W14) 15. Total: (For 7 wickets in 20 overs) 238.
Fall of wickets: 1-18, 2-27, 3-126, 4-149, 5-166, 6-185, 7-209.
Bowling: Jacob Duffy 4-0-27-2, Kyle Jamieson 4-0-54-2, Kristian Clarke 4-0-40-1, Ish Sodhi 3-0-38-1, Glenn Phillips 1-0-20-0, Mitchell Santner 3-0-37-1, Daryl Mitchell 1-0-21-0.
New Zealand: Devon Conway c Samson b Arshdeep 0, Tim Robinson c Dube b Varun 21, Rachin Ravindra c Sharma b Pandya 1, Glenn Phillips c Dube b Patel 78, Mark Chapman c Sharma b Chakravarthy 39, Daryl Mitchell c sub (Bishnoi) b Dube 28, Mitchell Santner (not out) 20, Kristian Clarke c Rinku b Dube 0, Kyle Jamieson (not out) 1; Extras: (W2) 2. Total: (For 7 wickets in 20 overs) 190.
Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-1, 3-52, 4-131, 5-143, 6-189, 7-189.
Bowling: Arshdeep Singh 4-0-31-1, Hardik Pandya 2-0-20-1, Jasprit Bumrah 3-0-29-0, Axar Patel 3.3-0-42-1, Varun Chakravarthy 4-0-37-2, Shivam Dube 3-0-28-2, Abhishek Sharma 03-0-3-0.
