Inspired bowling and a 14-ball fifty by opener Abhishek Sharma led India to a crushing eight-wicket series-clinching win over New Zealand in the third T20 international on Sunday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah with figures of 3-17 and leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi (2-18) kept New Zealand down to 153-9 after India elected to field first in Guwahati.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Left-handed Abhishek then hit an unbeaten 20-ball 68 and skipper Suryakumar Yadav made 57 not out as India romped home with 10 overs to spare to take an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The series is a warm-up ahead of the T20 World Cup starting on February 7 in India and Sri Lanka.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Matt Henry bowled Sanju Samson with the first ball of India's chase but the hosts soon took charge with Ishan Kishan and fellow left-hander Abhishek hitting a flurry of fours and sixes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The pair put on 53 runs off 19 balls before Kishan fell for 28 off Ish Sodhi, but Abhishek raced to India's second fastest in the format.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Abhishek missed out on his mentor Yuvraj Singh's fastest T20 fifty record for India by two balls. Yuvraj scored a fifty in 12 balls in 2007.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Abhishek kept up the attack with Suryakumar, who hit his second successive fifty in his 26-ball knock. The duo put on an unbeaten stand of 102 to underline India's status as the world's number one-ranked T20 team.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
India's bowlers set up victory with the pacers taking three wickets inside first six overs including Harshit Rana dismissing Devon Conway for the fifth time in successive white-ball matches.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Rachin Ravindra fell for four to Hardik Pandya. Bumrah then bowled wicketkeeper-batter Tim Seifert for 12 as New Zealand slumped to 34-3.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Glenn Phillips, who made 48 off 40 balls, and attempted to pull things back in a partnership of 54 for the fourth wicket with Mark Chapman before Bishnoi broke through.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Bishnoi, who made the Indian XI after nearly a year, had Chapman caught behind for 32 and later denied Phillips a half-century.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Wickets kept tumbling and despite skipper Mitchell Santner's 27 off 17 balls New Zealand fell well short of a testing total.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The fourth match is on Wednesday in Visakhapatnam.<\/p>\r\n", "image": "https:\/\/img.cricketnmore.com\/uploads\/2026\/01\/India-v-NZ-3rd-T20I-20261.jpeg", "alt_img": "Abhishek Sharma", "alt_title": "India vs New Zealand 3rd t20I 2026", "image1": null, "video": null, "seo_title": "Abhishek Sharma\u2019s 14-Ball Fifty Powers India to Series-Clinching T20I Win Over New Zealand On Cricketnmore", "seo_desc": "Abhishek Sharma smashed a 14-ball fifty as India cruised to an eight-wicket win over New Zealand in the third T20I, sealing the series 3-0 in Guwahati.", "seo_keywords": "Abhishek Sharma, India Vs New Zealand, New Zealand Tour India 2026", "tag": null, "tagging": "Abhishek Sharma,India Vs Zealand,Zealand Tour India 2026,", "status": "1", "img_rpt": "0", "google": "1", "standout": "0", "edapps": "0", "pulse": "0", "no_index": "0", "feed": "0", "fixture": null, "slug": "abhishek-sharmas-14-ball-fifty-powers-india-to-series-clinching-t20i-win-over-new-zealand", "user_id": "0", "read_count": "1", "ians_date": null, "ians_time": null, "server_time": null, "trash": "0", "view_count": "1267", "page_break": "0", "instant_articles": "1", "auto_link": "1", "created": "2026-01-25 22:10:22", "updated": "2026-01-25 22:10:22", "img_from": "Image Source: Google", "img_source": null, "schedule_publish": null, "news_keywords": "Abhishek Sharma, India Vs New Zealand, New Zealand Tour India 2026", "livescore_text": null, "livescore_link": null, "btn_text": null, "resend_feed": "0", "google_feed": "0", "read_more": "1", "posted_by": "19", "jio_date": "2026-01-25 22:10:22", "scheduled": "0", "news_now": "1", "breaking_news": "1", "google_date": null, "featured": "0", "pred_match_id": "Select", "article_content_type": null, "england_cricket": "0", "link": "https:\/\/www.cricketnmore.com\/cricket-news\/abhishek-sharmas-14-ball-fifty-powers-india-to-series-clinching-t20i-win-over-new-zealand-186861" }