India's batting: Prime-time entertainment at daily-soap frequency

Life as a 90s kid in India was bliss. You had top-notch weekly prime-time shows and superhero television series like Hatim and Shaktimaan to drool over. Episodes aired just once a week, yet they captured the imagination of children and transported them into an entirely different world.

While Shaktimaan blended realism with gothic sci-fi laboratories, Hatim thrived on moody, atmospheric, texture-rich fairytale landscapes. Though their creative approaches differed, both evoked the same sense of euphoria that children of that era craved.

Now imagine if they had aired every day instead of once a week. They might still have been prime-time entertainment, but the frequency of a daily soap would likely have diminished the anticipation and craving associated with them.

India's batting in T20I cricket carries the same premium thrill as Shaktimaan and Hatim, but its daily-soap-like frequency has made the extraordinary seem ordinary.

When Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma strode out to open the innings at Hnry Stadium in Wellington on Tuesday (October 27) in the third match of the five-match T20I series against New Zealand, India needed 199 runs from 20 overs at a daunting required rate of 9.95 per over.

Just eight overs into the chase, the asking rate had plummeted to 3.58 as India raced to 156 for 1, with only Sooryavanshi dismissed. The pair had effectively crushed the chase, grinding the Kiwis into the dirt with relentless aggression.

It all began with an aerial hit over mid-on by Sooryavanshi off the very first ball of the innings. The opening duo pillaged 26 runs from the first over, a new men's T20I record, and that too against Jacob Duffy, who had been the world's No. 1-ranked T20I bowler as recently as 17 months ago.

But that was merely the appetiser. The main course served up by the opening pair, particularly Abhishek, was enough to satisfy even the most voracious Indian cricket fan.

The record for the fastest team fifty in men's T20Is fell before the fastest team hundred came crashing down. It was then only a matter of time before Australia's record for the highest powerplay score in a men's T20I was eclipsed. Sooryavanshi and Abhishek combined for a staggering 118 without loss in the first six overs.

Although Sooryavanshi fell against the run of play for a 19-ball 45 on the first ball of the eighth over, Abhishek carried on. He brought up his fourth T20I hundred, and with it came the fall of numerous other records.

Two statistics illustrate why the carnage in Wellington was no anomaly.

The first is the highest strike rates in T20Is in 2026 among batters from Full Member nations who have faced a minimum of 150 deliveries.

Abhishek sits comfortably atop the list with a strike rate of 206.42. Yet what stands out even more is that three other Indian batters also feature in the top 10.

The second statistic relates to boundary percentage among batters from Full Member nations, again with a minimum of 150 balls faced in T20Is during 2026.

Once again, Abhishek leads the chart, followed by Sooryavanshi and Sanju Samson in second and third, respectively. Ishan Kishan also makes the cut at No. 10.

If you still are not convinced that India's top order is making the extraordinary look ordinary, then Shreyas Iyer's remarks in the post-match presentation may change your mind.

"It was pleasing to the eye," said Iyer. "When me and Sanju went out, the ball was swinging and we were like, 'How did they manage it?' Getting 100 in five overs, I have never seen that before at the international level."