India beat New Zealand by six wickets in the third T20I at Sky Stadium, Wellington, on October 27, chasing down 199 in 13.2 overs to seal the five-match series 3-0 with two games still to play, in Auckland and Hamilton.
New Zealand, batting first, posted 198 for 3, with Daryl Mitchell finishing unbeaten on 89 off 52 balls and Bevon Jacobs unbeaten on 39 off 23 as the pair added quickfire runs through the closing overs to give the hosts a total that looked competitive against most sides.
Abhishek Sharma reached his century off just 35 balls, equalling Rohit Sharma's record for the fastest century by an Indian batter in T20Is, before finishing unbeaten on 113 off 38 balls with nine fours and eleven sixes. He and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who made 45 off 19, put on 133 runs for the first wicket in just 7.1 overs, effectively deciding the contest well before the halfway mark of the chase.
The win confirms India's 3-0 lead in the five-match series, meaning the remaining fixtures in Auckland and Hamilton are now dead rubbers for the tourists but still carry weight for New Zealand, who need to win both to avoid a series sweep. It is a second consecutive series in which India's top order has produced a standout individual innings to settle a contest early, continuing a pattern from the ODI leg against West Indies earlier this month.
Abhishek Sharma's explosive top-order form makes him a near-automatic fantasy captaincy option for as long as this series continues, while Daryl Mitchell's finishing in a losing cause confirms his role as New Zealand's most consistent batting threat this series. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's share of a record-pace opening stand adds a credible second name to India's top-order fantasy options beyond the headline act, and both should remain central picks for the dead-rubber matches to come.
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Scores and records in this article are verified against same-day and freshly re-checked reporting as of October 27, 2026.
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