“You can’t beat Wellington on a good day” is a classic New Zealand catchphrase that highlights how special the capital city looks and feels when the weather is calm, sunny, and clear. The only problem is that “good days” in Wellington are very few and the rest are wet, cold and blustery. At the pre-match press conference team India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel described the conditions as a “different beast” after wind speeds reached up to 120 km/h on the eve of the 3rd T20I. He also added that the winds were so strong yesterday morning that “the whole building was sort of shaking” inside their hotel. On the day of the game the capital city received 17 mm of rain but the drainage at the Hnry Stadium is so good that as soon as the rain stopped the ground staff got the outfield bone dry to ensure an on-time start.
New Zealand has a cap on the number of Casino licenses issued in the country. Wellington never obtained a casino licence before that rule came into being and hence it is the only major city without a casino. If it had one, it would have given Shreyas Iyer a VIP invite. Shreyas rightly called tails for the third time in a row and had no hesitation in asking the Blackcaps to bat first yet again.
Tim Seifert’s dismissal in this game was like watching a replay of his dismissal in the last one. Arshdeep swinging the new ball away from his arc and Seifert going for a mighty hoick to the leg side only to be caught at point via a skier. Finn Allen once again made an attractive start but failed to convert it into a big innings. His runs come at a fair clip and if the Blackcaps are to get over the line against this Indian side one feels that they will need an Allen special to get the job done.
At the fall of the first wicket Daryl Mitchell strode out to the middle like a man on a mission. Mitchell has been promoted to number three in this series because of the injury to Rachin Ravindra. He later acknowledged that it wasn’t a position that he had played a lot at. So far Mitchell has played for eight different franchises outside New Zealand, but he is not in high demand in the T20 market. Ironically this has worked in New Zealand’s favour as he is one of the rare three format players in the world. He is also an extremely proud Kiwi who loves winning. Mitchell spent five of his formative years in Australia playing school and club cricket which could explain the steely determination in his personality. Having missed out in the last game Mitchell took it upon himself to play the big innings.
Amidst wind gusts, training with gusto 😀
Welcome to Windy Welly!
A glimpse of #TeamIndia’s training session at the Basin Reserve as the boys prep up for the 3rd T20I 🙌
#NZvIND https://t.co/xlD9qIy8mf
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 27, 2026
When the Indian bowlers bowled full to him, he lapped them behind the wicket, when they bowled short, he brutally pulled them and when they bowled in the slot, he used his power to clear the boundary with ease. 89 from 52 is a decent T20I innings. The Indian openers made it look pedestrian but as per Mitchell, the hosts were happy with the target they had set for the opposition. Credit must be give to the Indian bowlers who restricted the Blackcaps in the final seven overs by bowling a full length which made it difficult to get underneath the ball.
During the innings break every venue so far in this series has had a light show. Wellington went one up on the other venues by staging a sensational fireworks display. Drawing inspiration, the Indian openers decided to celebrate an early Diwali and lit up the stadium with an incandescent exhibition of power-hitting. It is not often that you know the result of a 199-run chase in the first over itself. It is not often that 133 runs are scored in the first 7 overs of a T20 run chase. It is not often that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi plays second fiddle to his batting partner. There were just over 11,000 cricket fans at the Henry stadium tonight. Every single one of them was privileged to have witnessed Abhishek Sharma’s bat breathing fire on all the Kiwi bowlers.
The first fifty came in 15 balls and the century in 35. It was decorated with 9 boundaries and 11 sixes at a strike rate of 297.36 and while he was at the crease every single ball was an event. Vaibhav scored 45 in 19 deliveries with 4 boundaries and 4 sixes, but his innings was overshadowed entirely by a fellow southpaw.
There is a video on social media of Abhishek speaking to his teammates before the first match of this T20I series. “I think against West Indies we did few mistakes, that we played them as our friends. New Zealand are going to challenge us in that way as well. So, let us show them why we are world champions,” Abhishek said before adding some desi flavour to his huddle speech. “And in Punjabi we say, if we rhyme well, we will perform well. So, baari barsi khatan gaya si, khatke leanda hand; chalo aaj aapa pehla jitiye match in New Zealand!” His message tells us two things; that Abhishek is not happy about the 2-2 series result versus the West Indies, and wants his team to be ruthless. Upon reaching three figures at the rate of knots Abhishek celebrated with his trademark “Om” symbol which is a tribute to meditation and inner peace. Regular meditation has helped him maintain an equilibrium through the highs and lows of the sport.
The high-risk approach that Abhishek adopts in T20I cricket means that he will fail from time to time but when he succeeds, he can win games for his team single handedly. In my tour preview I’d opined that the management needs to find a way to play each of Abhishek, Sanju Samson and Sooryavanshi in the XI. The injury to Ishan Kishan has made that a reality but credit must be given to Samson for agreeing to bat at number three to accommodate Sooryavanshi at the top of the order along with Abhishek.
Following their 10-wicket semi-final defeat to England in the 2022 T20 World Cup, the Indian cricket team faced heavy criticism for outdated tactics, conservative PowerPlay batting, and poor tactical selection. At the time captain Rohit Sharma acknowledged that a change in attitude was necessary and led the way, making India’s approach bolder and switching on their experimentation mode. It resulted in India making the final of the ODI World Cup in 2023 and winning back-to-back T20 World Cup titles in 2024 and 2026. After watching the first three games of this series one wonders if New Zealand are currently at identical crossroads? The T20 format is evolving rapidly, and the nice guys still seem to be playing catch up with the likes of India and England.
While the series is done and dusted a paradox awaits the slam-bang action. The caravan rolls on to the biggest city in New Zealand which features one of the smallest straight boundaries – 45 metres – in the world. A massive crowd is expected at Eden Park on Friday night. In the history of T20I cricket there have only been two whitewashes in a 5-match series. India pummeled New Zealand 5-0 in 2020, and Australia flogged West Indies 5-0 in 2025. Although it is a rare occurrence it is difficult to see how the Blackcaps motivate themselves to win one of the two remaining matches and salvage some pride. Auckland has the biggest casino in New Zealand. Shreyas must be keen to continue his winning streak of tosses, and his boys will be determined to go for the jugular. Vanquishing their bogey team will feel so good, much like a halcyon day in Wellington.
