Sharma hits 14-ball 50 as India beats NZ with 10 overs to spare and wins T20 series

GUWAHATI, India (AP) — Opener Abhishek Sharma hit a whirlwind 68 not out off 20 balls as India beat New Zealand with ease, winning the third Twenty20 match by eight wickets on Sunday with 10 overs to spare.

India took an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.

Sharma reached his 50 off only 14 deliveries, including four sixes, and put on 102 off 40 balls with skipper Suryakumar Yadav (57 not out off 26) as India reached 155-2 in 10 overs in reply to New Zealand's 153-9 in 20 overs.

Sharma's innings was India’s second fastest fifty in men's T20s.

“This is what my team wants from me – I want to execute it all the time,” Sharma said. “It is not easy to do it, but I keep trying.”

Jasprit Bumrah returned for India and took 3-17 in four overs as New Zealand was restricted to a sub-par score.

Glenn Phillips top-scored for the Black Caps with 48 off 40 and Mark Chapman was out for 32.

India won the first T20 in Nagpur by 48 runs, and the second T20 in Raipur by seven wickets.

The fourth T20 is at Visakhapatnam on Wednesday.

Chasing 154, India started badly by losing Sanju Samson for a golden duck to Matt Henry.

But Sharma hit five sixes and seven fours overall to put New Zealand’s bowling to the sword.

Ishan Kishan hit 28 off 13 deliveries as the pair added 53 off only 19 balls for the second wicket. Kishan then holed out off Ish Sodhi, yet it didn’t end New Zealand’s misery.

India set a hectic pace scoring 100 in only 6.3 overs. Yadav got his second consecutive half-century – off 25 balls. He finished with three sixes and six fours overall.

New Zealand was put into bat but failed to make a good start. Bumrah bowled Tim Seifert for 12 after Harshit Rana dismissed Devon Conway for one.

Hardik Pandya (2-23) made it 34-3 in 5.1 overs with Rachin Ravindra's dismissal for four.

New Zealand never really recovered from those early blows despite a 52-run partnership between Phillips and Chapman, who both fell to wrist spinner Ravi Bishnoi (2-18).

Bumrah then returned for another spell and got two more wickets.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

India's captain Suryakumar Yadav reacts as he celebrates after scoring fifty runs during the third T20 cricket match between India and New Zealand in Guwahati, India, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

India's Jasprit Bumrah celebrates the dismissal of New Zealand's captain Mitchell Santner during the third T20 cricket match between India and New Zealand in Guwahati, India, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

India's Jasprit Bumrah, second left, celebrates with teammates after the dismissal of New Zealand's Tim Seifert during the third T20 cricket match between India and New Zealand in Guwahati, India, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

New Zealand's Glenn Phillips plays a shot during the third T20 cricket match between India and New Zealand in Guwahati, India, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

New Zealand's Matt Henry, left, run out by India's Jasprit Bumrah during the third T20 cricket match between India and New Zealand in Guwahati, India, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

India's captain Suryakumar Yadav, right, greets India's Abhishek Sharma as he scores fifty run during the third T20 cricket match between India and New Zealand in Guwahati, India, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

India's Abhishek Sharma plays a shot during the third T20 cricket match between India and New Zealand in Guwahati, India, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge turned to the Bleacher Creatures during their first-inning Roll Call at the New York Yankees' home opener Friday, bent a knee and flexed with both arms in honor of Brett Gardner.

“Still hoping he gets a chance to come back here and share his knowledge with the boys a little bit,” Judge said after his go-ahead, two-run homer in the first inning started the Yankees to an 8-2 win over the Miami Marlins. “He was a big part of this team, his long tenure here as a Yankee, so I always like paying him a little credit. He's tuned into the game and watching.”

Gardner spent his entire big league career with the Yankees from 2008-21, and Judge made his major league debut with New York in 2016. Judge started flexing for Roll Call when playing center field, Gardner's old position. Judge roomed with Gardner in 2017.

“He was a leader. He was a professional. He was a prankster. He was everything that you look for in a guy to lead the team,” Judge said, speaking slowly and choosing his words carefully. “He took me in at a young age when I first got here and he treated me just like everybody else and showed me respect. He taught me a lot of things. It kind of teaches you how to lead a clubhouse. He had a big influence on me not only on the field but inside this clubhouse, just the way he played the game and the way he held everybody to a standard. Very few guys are made like Brett Gardner.”

Gardner has been in the Yankees' thoughts even more since March 2024, when his youngest son died at age 14 during a family vacation in Costa Rica. Authorities determined carbon monoxide poisoning was the cause of death.

Judge, the team captain, wanted the Yankees to arrive in style after opening 5-1 on their West Coast trip.

“That's Cap, again, setting the tone,” said Ben Rice, who homered and drove in three runs. “Sent us a text late last night saying: `Hey, suits tomorrow.' So everybody was fired up and we were happy to continue that momentum out on the field.”

Trent Grisham reached leading off with the first of 11 walks by Marlins pitchers and Judge drove a slider into the left-field seats against Eury Pérez for a 2-1 lead.

Judge, who had three RBIs, hit a record 20 first-inning home runs last year, when he finished with 53. Three of Judge’s five hits this season have been home runs.

Coming off his third AL MVP award and first batting title, Judge is off to a slow start with a .185 average.

He gave his teammates a scare in the second inning when he was hit below the right wrist by a 98.9 mph fastball from Pérez, one pitch after Grisham's bases-loaded walk.

“I’ve broken my wrist like that, so that’s always the main concern,” Judge said.

Judge missed 45 games after he was hit by a pitch from Kansas City’s Jakob Junis on July 26, 2018.

“Felt like he was probably OK but I tend to jump up a little quicker when it’s to him," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge (99) hits a two-run home run during the first inning of the Yankees' home-opener baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Friday, April 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) walks back to dugout during the fifth inning of a home-opener baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Friday, April 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge (99) successfully steals second base during the eighth inning of a home-opener baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Friday, April 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

New York Yankees outfielders Cody Bellinger (35), Trent Grisham (12) and Aaron Judge (99) embrace each other after wining a home-opener baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Friday, April 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge (99) celebrates after hitting a two-run home run during the first inning of the Yankees' home-opener baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Friday, April 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)