Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan took the attack to the Kiwis despite India losing a wicket on the first ball of their innings.
The silent Abhishek Sharma who sits just outside the boundary knocking the ball off his bat is like the calm before the storm. Once he steps in, he can score an unbeaten 68 off just 20 deliveries. That is what he did in the IND vs NZ 3rd T20I, sending shivers down the New Zealand bowlers’ spines.
“That’s what my team wants from me.” After all his heroics with which he sent spectators into a frenzy, this is one line which he had to say.
After New Zealand got to 153/9, they probably knew they were short of runs. But little did they know, that the hosts would wipe them out with 10 overs to spare. The Blues didn’t just dominate. They picked the Kiwis and threw them straight out of Guwahati!
Here are a few Hits & Flops from the 3rd T20I between India and New Zealand in Guwahati:
If Ravi Bishnoi continues to display these kind of performances, he would be in the fray for consideration for a ticket to the T20 Word Cup 2026 squad. The management would be thinking of pairing up Varun Chakravarthy with Bishnoi. But leaving out Kuldeep Yadav will be a huge call.
That being said, the Indians do not really need to make that change. Despite Bishnoi’s two-wicket haul in the 3rd T20I, what Kuldeep Yadav brings to the table cannot be given up. But for what its worth, the team management would be scratching their heads for a while.
For the second time in three matches, Rachin Ravindra was sent packing by Hardik Pandya. Though the areas where he was caught were different, the idea was the same. On both the occasions, Hardik cramped him up for room – a weakness of Ravindra that has been creeping up.
In the image on the left (1st T20I), we can see that the Kiwi all-rounder was cramped for room. In the 3rd T20I, Rachin Ravindra hit a good shot, which unfortunately landed in the hands of Ravi Bishnoi. However, there seems to be a pattern which the Indians are exploiting.
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Safe to say, the visitors have got their batting order all wrong. Daryl Mitchell came out to bat at No.6, which is too low for a batter of his calibre. To add to that, Mitchell has shown that he needs a few balls to settle in, before going hammer and tongs.
However, the way this batting order is formulated, Mitchell has been batting way out of his position. To add to that, Rachin Ravindra has not contributed to the side for a considerable time now, and will be amongst the discussions. The best batters for the Kiwis are Glenn Phillips and Daryl Mitchell, and they need to make sure that they both bat in the top four.
The best part of this Indian side might clearly be their bowling, but it does have its weak links. Shivam Dube as the sixth bowling option can be taken to the cleaners, like he was in Guwahati. This effectively means, that if two bowlers go for runs, India might have a tough day.
Furthermore, those two bowlers do not have to be Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakravarthy. The opposition teams can play their battles smart and plan their innings out – which would help them to attack bowlers against whom they have a better chance of winning. Therefore, Shivam Dube’s bowling would be under the scanner.
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