New Zealand secured a comfortable seven-wicket victory over India in the fifth and final T20I in Hamilton, successfully chasing down a target of 192 in 18 overs. Despite the loss, India claimed the overall five-match T20I series with a 3-2 victory margin. The hosts laid the foundation for their win by restricting India to 191 for 8, spearheaded by fast bowler Adam Milne’s exceptional spell of 4 for 19.
Milne and New Zealand Bowlers Limit India After Strong Start
Asked to bat first, India faced early setbacks as New Zealand’s pacers found swinging conditions. Milne made quick breakthroughs by dismissing opener Abhishek Sharma, who was caught at mid-on, and Sanju Samson, who produced a leading edge while attempting a flick. Ishan Kishan launched a swift counter-attack alongside Shreyas Iyer, striking key boundaries off Jacob Duffy, Nathan Smith, and Blair Tickner to push India to 50 for 2 at the end of the Powerplay. Kishan, meanwhile, struck some much-needed boundaries, getting a six and a four off Jacob Duffy, while Smith went for 16 in his first over, including a maximum for Iyer.
Kishan survived a close boundary catch attempt by Finn Allen, with the third umpire ruling that Allen touched the rope before releasing the ball. Kishan brought up a 28-ball fifty with a six off Mitchell Santner in the ninth over, during which he also surpassed 2,000 T20I runs. India accelerated further in the 10th over off Michael Bracewell, who conceded 27 runs as Iyer hit two sixes and a four while Kishan added a six and a four, despite the Indian captain being dropped in the same over. At the halfway mark, India were commanding at 111 for 2 and well-positioned for a 200-plus total. And also crossed 2000 T20I runs, kishan went on to bring up a 28-ball fifty with a maximum off Mitchell Santner in the ninth over.
However, New Zealand pulled the game back in the second half through regular wickets. Tickner broke the 93-run partnership by having Kishan caught at deep midwicket for 61 off 32 balls. Iyer completed his fifty off 22 balls before falling soon after to Smith for 50. Tilak Varma was reprieved by a Smith no-ball but could not capitalize, returning a return catch to the bowler shortly after. Naman Dhir, who scored 33 off 23 after being dropped by Milne, combined with Nitish Kumar Reddy (22 off 17) for a brisk 46-run stand, but late wickets restricted India to 191 for 8 in their 20 overs. Smith and Tickner both finished with two wickets each.
Seifert and Phillips Power New Zealand to Target
New Zealand lost Finn Allen early in the chase when he was caught off Arshdeep Singh attempting a pull shot. Tim Seifert received an early reprieve when he was dropped by Dhir off Arshdeep, and he quickly capitalized. Daryl Mitchell struck two consecutive sixes off Prince Yadav to build momentum. Returning to India’s playing eleven in place of Mayank Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar gave away just 11 runs in his first two overs before Seifert struck him for two sixes and two fours in a 20-run third over, bringing New Zealand to 59 for 1 at the end of the Powerplay.
Varun Chakaravarthy, who replaced Axar Patel in India’s lineup, was hit for a six by Mitchell, who cleared the boundary again off Prince before being caught at long-off in Varun’s second over. Seifert completed his fifty off 34 balls with a six off Nitish Kumar Reddy, steering the hosts to 96 for 2 after 10 overs. Seifert added 13 runs off Abhishek Sharma’s 11th over and struck two fours off Arshdeep in the 12th over.
Host Cruise to Victory with Two Overs Remaining
Glenn Phillips joined the attack, striking three fours in an 18-run over off Varun, followed by two fours for Seifert off Prince as New Zealand crossed 150 in the 14th over. Phillips smashed Varun for two more sixes, surviving a dropped catch between them, to lower the required runs to 29 off 30 balls. Seifert missed out on a century when he inside-edged Reddy onto his stumps to fall for 93 off 50 balls, an innings containing 11 fours and 5 sixes.
Phillips then brought up his fourth half-century of the series in 29 balls, striking a six and a four off Arshdeep. Needing seven runs from the final three overs, Phillips closed out the match by hitting two fours off Bhuvneshwar in the 18th over. Phillips ended unbeaten on 65 off 38 balls, including 8 fours and 3 sixes, as New Zealand reached 195 for 3 to complete the seven-wicket victory.
Match Summary Brief Scores
- India191/8 in 20 overs (Ishan Kishan 61, Shreyas Iyer 50, Naman Dhir 33; Adam Milne 4-19, Nathan Smith 2-28, Blair Tickner 2-43)
- New Zealand195/3 in 18 overs (Tim Seifert 93, Glenn Phillips 65*, Daryl Mitchell 27; Nitish Kumar Reddy 1-19)
- ResultNew Zealand won by 7 wickets; India won the 5-match series 3-2.
