The last T20i Series of India before the T20 World Cup 2026 started last night against New Zealand. The first match of the series was played at the VCA Stadium, Jantha. New Zealand won the toss and invited India to bat first.

In the first innings, Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma opened the innings for India, but Sanju failed to give a great start and was caught very early. Ishan Kishan didn’t contribute for India, but Captain Surya Kumar Yadav and Abhishek Sharma made a comfortable score. 

Abhishek Sharma played a fiery inning of 84 runs in 35 balls, smashing 5 fours and 8 sixes, and Surya Kumar Yadav scored 32 runs in 22 balls. After them, Hardik Pandya smashed some classy shots and scored 25 runs in 16 balls. Rinku Singh justified his comeback by scoring 44 runs in 20 balls for India, smashing 4 fours and 3 sixes. India made a tough total of 238 runs for 7 wickets.
For New Zealand, Jacob Duffy, Kyle Jaminson, Kris Clarke, Ish Sodhi, and Mitchell Santner took wickets against India.

In the second innings, Devon Conway and Tim Robinson opened for New Zealand, but Devon Conway lost at 0, and Tim Robinson contributed 21 runs in 15 balls, while Rachin Ravindra also lost his wicket at 1.

After this, Glenn Phillips played an important inning for New Zealand and scored 78 runs in 40 balls, smashing 4 fours and 6 sixes. Mark Chapman and Daryll Mitchell scored 39 runs in 24 balls and 28 runs in 18 balls, respectively. Mitchel Santner scored 20 runs in 13 balls, but because of the collapse in the top order, Indian bowlers stopped New Zealand at 190 runs.

For India, Shivam Dube, Varun Chakaravarthy, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, and Arshdeep Singh took wickets against New Zealand and helped India to win by 48 runs.

Abhishek Sharma won the player of the match award for his amazing performance, scoring 84 runs in 35 balls.