IND vs NZ: Abhishek Sharma surpasses Suryakumar Yadav; breaks Rohit Sharma's record in first T20

Abhishek Sharma began the T20 series against New Zealand with a 35-ball 84, leaving the New Zealand bowlers spaced out as India piled up a strong 238/7 in the first T20 International on Wednesday.The number one T20 international batsman reminded the Black Caps’ fielders about their helpless existence when facing him as he unleashed eight massive sixes and five fours with jaw-dropping hitting skills. Opening the batting, Abhishek smashed his fifty with ease in just 22 deliveries, thereby establishing a new T20I record for the quickest fifty by an Indian against New Zealand. This positive start put pressure on the New Zealand bowlers and set the tone for the rest of the batting lineup.During his innings, Abhishek became the only batter who has scored eight half-centuries in T20Is in 25 or fewer balls, surpassing the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Phil Salt and Evin Lewis, who are all tied on 7 of such knocks.Abhishek achieved this feat in 22 balls, thus also breaking the previous Indian record for the fastest fifty in T20Is against the Kiwis, which was held jointly by KL Rahul (Auckland in 2020) and Rohit Sharma (Hamilton in 2020). Both of them took 23 balls. To better two of India’s best white-ball cricketers says a lot about the fearless approach that the newer generation possesses.Suryakumar Yadav, at the other end, struggled to find rhythm throughout, but a couple of shots-the crisp back-foot punch through covers off Duffy and a power-packed six off Clarke behind square-suggested that flashes of the vintage Indian skipper weren't all too far away. Overall, however, he was still short of his best.The usually reliable Black Caps skipper Mitchell Santner, 1/37 in 3 overs, tried to stem the flow and succeeded to a degree as Suryakumar was finally holed out at long-on, unable to find the requisite elevation.Meanwhile, Abhishek Sharma continued his dominance, though his innings ended in the very next over. A slightly shorter leg-break from Ish Sodhi proved enough for Jamieson to grab it with ease.Rinku Singh took advantage of the deliveries towards the end, smashing 21 runs off Daryl Mitchell’s final over as India stormed to a formidable total, raising the bar high enough to make the finish of the innings thrilling.