India continued their rampaging form in T20Is as they decimated New Zealand on Sunday, January 25, at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. In the third T20I, the Men in Blue made light work of a 154-run target to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series against the Black Caps with two games remaining.
Abhishek Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav smashed whirlwind half-centuries as India chased down the target in just 10 overs, with eight wickets left in the bank. Former captain Sunil Gavaskar
said that India are the side to beat in T20I cricket as they are an all-round force. He mentioned that other teams will not want to face India as they have all bases covered.
“Look at everything, not just the batting. Their bowling, their catching, their outfielding — they were a champion side. What do we do against this side? How do we stop this side? This is a side to beat. This is a side that will take some beating," Gavaskar said during the post-match show on JioHotstar.
Abhishek brought up his half-century off just 14 balls, narrowly missing the world record for the fastest fifty in T20I cricket, held by his mentor, Yuvraj Singh. The legendary all-rounder smashed a 12-ball fifty against England during the 2007 T20 World Cup. Gavaskar said that Abhishek might just break the record one day and Yuvraj will be the happiest person once that happens.
“Getting to a fifty that quickly is very tough. But what Abhishek has been showing over the last many matches is that he’s capable of doing that. One time he’s done it in 14 deliveries, another time in 16, so he’s getting there. Who knows, maybe one day he’ll go past it. And if that happens, the happiest person will be Yuvraj," Gavaskar said.
The fourth T20I is scheduled to be played at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday, January 28. The series has already been won by India, which leaves New Zealand with nothing but pride to play for.
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