118 in Six Overs: India’s Openers Rewrite the T20 Powerplay in Windy Wellington

New Zealand posted 198 in Wellington on Tuesday and, on most nights, that would have been a fighting total. Daryl Mitchell’s unbeaten 89 had given the hosts something to defend. It lasted barely an hour.

India’s openers Abhishek Sharma and 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, opening together for the first time in the series, took 118 runs from the six powerplay overs, a new record in men’s T20 internationals. India reached 100 in five overs. Their stand of 133 came at more than 18 runs an over, the fastest rate ever recorded for a 100-plus opening partnership in the format.

Sooryavanshi made 45 from 19 balls before holing out at long on. Abhishek kept going, surviving a drop on 92 to finish with 113 from 38 balls, including 11 sixes. India got home inside 14 overs with six wickets to spare and took an unbeatable 3-0 lead with two games left.

For India, the bigger story is depth. Moving an established opener down the order to give a teenager the new ball was a bold call, and it paid off at once. For New Zealand, the next stop is Eden Park in Auckland on Friday, an even smaller ground. Mitchell Santner and his bowlers will need a very different plan for the first six overs.