IND Vs NZ 1st T20I: Abhishek Sharma Warms Up For ICC T20 World Cup, Smashes Hat-Trick Of Fours To Reach Half-Century

Abhishek Sharma has gotten the IND vs NZ T20I series off to a flyer with a fine show in Nagpur. Despite the wickets of Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan, Sharma continued on his aggressive style and reaped rewards on Wednesday. The left-hander reached his 7th T20I fifty in 22 balls, the fastest by an Indian against New Zealand.

Sharma smashed a six off Jacob Duffy in the very first over to signal his intent. Abhishek has made a name for his aggressive batting, the Sunrisers Hyderabad batter focused on clearing the fence in the powerplay. He hit 4 sixes with the field restrictions, allowing Suryakumar Yadav to settle in.

If Kiwis thought Abhishek would slow down after the powerplay, Sharma paid a stop to those ideas. He smashed a hat-trick of boundaries off Glenn Phillips to move to 49, before adding another single to get to his half-century.

Reaching his milestone, Sharma launched a couple of sixes off New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner to continue his onslaught. Abhishek powered India to 117/2 at the halfway stage, setting them well on course for a massive total.

Abhishek Sharma has grown into India's most reliable batter at the top of the order. He single handedly carried the bulk of run scoring in the Men in Blue's Asia Cup 2025 triumph. The left-hander is key to India's chances in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. The hosts and defending champions begin their campaign against the USA on February 7 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.