India, Jan. 21 -- Abhishek Sharma on Wednesday continued from where he left off in 2025. The left-handed batter from Punjab was at his brutal best against New Zealand in the first T20I of the five-match series at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur. The No. 1-ranked batter in the shortest format scored 84 runs off just 35 balls with the help of eight sixes and five fours. He was looking destined to score his second T20I century, but he was stopped in his tracks by Ish Sodhi as the 25-year-old lost his wicket in trying to go for another six.

Abhishek took just 22 balls to surpass the 50-run mark, registering the fastest T20I half-century by an Indian against New Zealand. The previous fastest was by KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma...