Abhishek Sharma made his return in style after failing in the previous T20I. In the third T20I against New Zealand in Raipur, India were chasing a target of 154 and Abhishek Sharma needed just 14 balls
to complete his half-century. The fifty by Abhishek in just 14 balls was the second fastest half-century for India in a T20I match and the fastest against New Zealand. He blazed away to a terrific half century and took the bowlers to the cleaners as India sealed the match with that innings.
Abhishek Sharma completed his half-century by smashing Jacob Duffy for a six on the last ball of the sixth over of the Indian innings. He smashed 9 fours and seven sixes during his knock. Watch his celebration here.
14 Balls, 50 Runs, 100% Shot Control!🔥 Abhishek Sharma ಮೈದಾನದಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಡಿಯೋ ಗೇಮ್ ಆಡ್ತಾ ಇದ್ದಾರೆ ಅನ್ಸುತ್ತೆ!⚡🥵 📺 ವೀಕ್ಷಿಸಿ | #INDvNZ 👉 3rd T20I | LIVE NOW | ನಿಮ್ಮ Star Sports ಕನ್ನಡ & JioHotstar ನಲ್ಲಿ.#TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/QxsuGEeT07
— Star Sports Kannada (@StarSportsKan) January 25, 2026
Chasing a target of 154, India lost Samson for a duck but it was a brutal onslaught by Abhishek as he smashed 68 runs of just 20 balls which included seven fours and five sixes. In the first T20I, Abhishek needed 22 balls to reach the 50-run mark against New Zealand and today he reached his half-century in just 14 balls.
Fastest half-century by Indian players in T20I Yuvraj Singh – 12 balls (vs England, 2007) Abhishek Sharma – 14 balls (vs New Zealand, 2026) Hardik Pandya – 16 balls (vs South Africa, 2025) Abhishek Sharma – 17 balls (vs England, 2025)
He took the game on in power play of India’s run chase, Abhishek was batting on 51 runs from 14 balls as India scored 94 runs in just the powerplay. It was a terrific knock and helped India cruise through the chase.
During the first match Abhishek Sharma broke the record of the fastest batter in the world to score 5000 runs in T20 cricket. The left hand batter achieved this feat in the first T20I against New Zealand. He scored 84 runs from just 35 balls where smashed 5 fours and 8 sixes. Today he has broken yet another record by scoring the fastest half-century against New Zealand. Abhishek is currently the Number 1 ranked T20I player and he has proved it again.
