India opener Abhishek Sharma set a new record in T20 International cricket during the first T20I against New Zealand, hitting a six off the first ball of the innings bowled by Matt Henry.
The six took Abhishek's tally to seven instances of hitting a six off the first ball of a T20I innings, moving him past Afghanistan's Shafiqullah Shinwari, who had achieved the feat six times.
Abhishek opened his innings aggressively against New Zealand, hitting Henry's first delivery for a six. According to the available statistics, he has now hit a six off the first ball of a T20 International innings seven times, the most by any batter in the format.
Shinwari previously held the record with six such sixes. India's Suryakumar Yadav is third on the list with five, followed by Ireland's Paul Stirling, New Zealand's Colin Munro and the UAE's Mohammad Naveen, who have each done so four times.
Abhishek Sharma (India) leads the list with seven instances, followed by Shafiqullah Shinwari (Afghanistan) with six and Suryakumar Yadav (India) with five. Paul Stirling (Ireland), Colin Munro (New Zealand) and Mohammad Naveen (UAE) have each hit a six off the first ball of a T20I innings four times.
Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson also added more than 50 runs for the first wicket against New Zealand. The partnership marked the fifth time the pair had recorded a stand of at least 50 runs in T20 Internationals for India in 2026, equalling the highest tally listed for an Indian opening pair in a calendar year.
Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill recorded five such partnerships in 2025, while KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma achieved the same number in 2021. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan recorded four such partnerships in 2018.
The partnership against New Zealand therefore placed Abhishek and Samson alongside the Indian pairs that have recorded five partnerships of 50 or more runs in a calendar year.
