India and New Zealand clashed in the series-deciding third T20I at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on February 1st. Hardik Pandya got off to a strong start by winning the toss and electing to bat first, as the Indian team sought to maintain their unblemished record at home.
Ishan Kishan's struggles persisted as he was dismissed for a single run, but then Rahul Tripathi (44 in 22 balls) and Shubman Gill capitalized on the powerplay overs, adding 80 runs for the second wicket.
Suryakumar Yadav was looking good for his 24 runs off 13 balls, but Shubman Gill was on fire, quickly bringing up his half-century in 35 balls. After Suryakumar's dismissal, Hardik Pandya stepped up to the occasion, smashing 30 runs off 17 balls. This seemed to spark something in Shubman, who then shifted gears and went on to score his maiden T20I hundred, finishing on an impressive 126* off 63 balls, with 12 fours and 7 sixes. This is now the highest score by an Indian in T20Is, surpassing Virat Kohli's 122* from last year. India finished with a total of 234/4 in 20 overs, with Shubman and Hardik adding 103 runs in 40 balls.
In response, New Zealand's Finn Allen was dismissed in the first over, brilliantly caught in the slips by Suryakumar Yadav off Hardik Pandya's bowling. Allen attempted to drive a short ball over the slips, but Surya leaped into the air and snagged the ball with both hands.
New Zealand continued to suffer losses at the wicket, and then Suryakumar Yadav made another remarkable catch in the slips, again off Pandya. This time in the 3rd over, as Glenn Phillips attempted to replicate Allen's shot, Suryakumar leaped into the air and repeated his previous catch, leaving New Zealand reeling at 7/4 within the first three overs.
As far as the match was concerned, India emphatically defeated New Zealand by 168 runs in the series decider, thus securing their second consecutive T20I series victory at home in 2023. Led by Hardik Pandya, the Indian side had previously triumphed over Sri Lanka by the same margin in the first week of January 2023.
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