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"The Game I Knew as a Kid Has Changed": Reddit on India's 118-run Powerplay
When India chased 199 in 13.2 overs in Wellington, with 118 without loss in the powerplay and a 35-ball hundred from Abhishek Sharma, cricket Reddit struggled for words. Here is how fans in India and New Zealand reacted.
Published Nov. 2, 2026, 06:42 GMT
Last updated: 2 Nov 2026References
The full series story is in our report on India's 3-2 series win. This is the fan reaction to the night in Wellington that broke records. Quotes are the opinions of the Reddit users named.
The numbers fans were reacting to
- Target of 199 reached in 13.2 overs.
- 118 for 0 in the six-over powerplay, the highest by a full-member team.
- Abhishek Sharma: 113 from 38 balls, hundred in 35 balls, his fourth T20I century.
- Vaibhav Sooryavanshi: 45 from 19 at the other end.
"Unbelievable"
In r/Cricket's post-match thread, u/ViolatingBadgers wrote the line that captured the mood: "The game I knew as a kid has changed. Unbelievable." A separate post marking the record powerplay score drew the same mix of awe and disbelief.
New Zealand fans: tip your cap
Black Caps supporters were gracious. u/Eclectic95: "sometimes you've gotta tip your cap". u/DaveTheKiwi offered context: New Zealand had not played T20 cricket for around six months before the series. NZ fans had the last laugh: their side won the next two games, and Glenn Phillips set a series record of 341 runs.
The ground debate
On r/IndiaCricket, fans looked ahead to the 4th T20I at Eden Park, where one thread discussed its unusually short boundary of about 55 metres. That game produced 259 for 7 from New Zealand.
Our take
Records like this say as much about T20's evolution as about one innings: flatter pitches, smaller grounds, bigger bats and players trained from childhood to hit from ball one. Whether that is thrilling or worrying depends which thread you read.
Read the threads: r/Cricket post-match thread and r/blackcapscricket post-match thread.
How we wrote this: our staff read the reporting listed below, checked the facts against more than one source where possible, and wrote this piece in our own words. Anything not confirmed is labelled. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
