Indian fast bowler Arshdeep Singh created a world record on Tuesday after India defeated New Zealand by six wickets in the third T20I at Wellington. With this victory, India also secured the five-match series. Arshdeep Singh took one wicket for 33 runs in his four overs. With this wicket, he reached 39 wickets in T20I cricket in 2026. He equalled the record for the most wickets by a bowler from a Full Member nation in a single calendar year in T20Is. Ireland's Joshua Little had also taken 39 wickets in 2022.
Since making his international debut in 2022, Arshdeep has become an important member of India's bowling attack. He has taken 149 wickets in 102 T20I matches and is just one wicket away from reaching the 150-wicket mark. He is also India's leading wicket-taker in T20I cricket. In the ongoing series against New Zealand, Arshdeep has taken four wickets in three matches.
India's victory was powered by a brilliant innings from Abhishek Sharma. The Indian batter scored an unbeaten 113 runs off just 38 balls, including a half-century in only 15 balls. He completed his century in 35 balls and helped India chase the target of 199 runs in just 13.2 overs. Young batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi also impressed with a quick 45 runs off 18 balls. However, Abhishek's powerful batting remained the main highlight of the match. India created two major records during the chase. They reached 100 runs in just five overs, setting a record for the fastest team 100 in T20I cricket. They also scored 118 runs in the powerplay, the highest powerplay total in T20I history.
With this win, India completed their third consecutive T20I series victory on New Zealand soil. They had previously won series 5-0 in 2020 and 1-0 in 2022.