India crushed New Zealand by seven wickets in Wellington on Tuesday, October 27, chasing down 199 with 40 balls to spare and setting a series of world records in the process, according to TimesNow.
The victory gave India an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match T20 international series. Openers Abhishek Sharma and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi did the damage with a 133-run stand built in just 7.1 overs.
What records did India break in Wellington
Abhishek Sharma finished on 113 runs from 38 balls, one of the most violent innings in the short history of the format. His teenage partner Vaibhav Sooryavanshi made 44 from 19. Together they took 118 runs from the six-over powerplay, the highest powerplay total ever recorded by any team in a T20 international, whether a full member of the International Cricket Council or an associate nation.
The previous best in that category belonged to Romania, who made 116 without loss against Serbia in Sofia in 2021. India passed that mark with ease.
India also became the first team in T20 international history to score more than 100 runs in the powerplay on two separate occasions. They first did it last month in New Delhi against Afghanistan, reaching 100 without loss.
Fastest team fifty and fastest team hundred
India reached their team fifty in just 2.2 overs, meaning 14 deliveries. It is the fastest fifty by a full-member nation in the history of the format, and it equals the all-time record shared by Papua New Guinea against Vanuatu in 2019, Romania against Serbia in 2022, and Malaysia against Hong Kong in 2025.
The hundred came up in exactly five overs, on the last ball of the 30th delivery of the innings. Among Test-playing nations, no team had ever reached three figures before the start of the sixth over. NDTV Sports reported that the opening partnership itself rewrote the record books, with the pair scoring at 18.13 runs per over, surpassing the previous mark of 16.08 set by England's Jos Buttler and Phil Salt.
South Africa had held the fastest hundred among full members, reaching the mark in 33 balls against the West Indies in Centurion in 2023.
Eswatini's own place in the record books
There is a detail in this record chase that readers at home will note with satisfaction. Among associate nations, only one team has reached 100 runs faster than India did on Tuesday: Eswatini, who took just 29 balls against Mozambique at Malkerns earlier this year.
That innings remains the quickest route to a team hundred ever recorded in the international game. India's effort in Wellington stands second only to that Malkerns display, and it took a full-strength Indian side batting at its fiercest to come close to what our national team achieved on home soil.
A chase no Test nation had managed before
India became the first Test-playing nation in T20 international history to chase a target of 200 with more than five overs remaining. Until Tuesday, the record among Test nations belonged to India themselves, who chased 208 against New Zealand in Raipur earlier this year with 28 balls to spare.
Among associate nations, only Bulgaria, who made 244 in 14.2 overs against Gibraltar, and Serbia, who reached 200 in 14.1 overs against Slovenia, have finished such chases faster.
India also became the first team to complete a chase of 150 or more in fewer than 15 overs on five separate occasions, breaking Australia's record. England have managed the feat three times, while Australia, the West Indies, and South Africa have each done it twice.
Series decided with two matches to play
The result settles the series with two matches still to be played. India.com reported that the pair's power-hitting completely overwhelmed New Zealand and sealed the series for the visitors, while Cricket Addictor noted that the openers broke the record for the fastest team hundred during the chase itself.
For New Zealand, the defeat continues a difficult stretch against a touring side that has outclassed them in every department. The remaining two matches now carry little beyond pride for the hosts.
For India, the Wellington chase will stand as a reference point for how quickly the modern game can be taken away from a bowling side. And for Eswatini, the record from Malkerns still stands, 29 balls to a team hundred, a mark set by our own and not yet beaten even by the best in the world.