New Zealand batter Mark Chapman believes Abhishek Sharma’s breathtaking six-hitting is far from reckless slogging, instead crediting the Indian opener’s game awareness and planning for his explosive impact. Chapman admitted the Black Caps would look to take a few lessons from Abhishek ahead of next month’s T20 World Cup.

The world No. 1 T20I batter continued his red-hot form with a stunning 68 not out off just 20 balls, blasting a 14-ball fifty that featured five towering sixes. His onslaught helped India chase down 154 in just 10 overs, sealing an unassailable 3–0 lead in the five-match series.

Abhishek has tormented New Zealand throughout the series. In the opening match, he smashed eight sixes in a 35-ball 84 as India posted 238 for seven before cruising to victory.

“To be honest, their batting has been dynamic and explosive,” Chapman said during the post-match media interaction.
“I haven’t seen much of him play in person, but his six-hitting ability is second to none. The way he goes about it, you can see he’s putting a lot of thought into his batting.”

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Chapman stressed that Abhishek’s dominance reflects the brutal nature of T20 cricket when a player is in peak form.

“He’s playing really good cricket at the moment, and that’s just T20S. When someone gets going like that, they can be very hard to stop. There’s a lot for us to review and improve across all three facets,” he said.

Despite losing the series, Chapman felt the contest against India offered ideal preparation ahead of the World Cup, where New Zealand open their campaign against Afghanistan in Chennai on February 8.

“There’s no better preparation for a World Cup than playing one of the best T20 teams in the world,” he said. “The surfaces here have been really good, but not every pitch in India will be a belter. Some will turn, and we need to be ready for that.”

New Zealand’s struggles in the powerplay, especially when compared to India’s explosive starts, have been a recurring issue in the series.

“It’s obviously not ideal to lose early wickets in the power play, but you also have to give credit to India. I thought they bowled really well and tied us down,” Chapman admitted.

While disappointed to be out of the series, Chapman said the focus now shifts to learning and fine-tuning ahead of the global tournament.

“India has played some really, really good cricket. We’ve got two games left here, and it’s about getting better each match, so we’re in good shape for the World Cup,” he concluded.