The Shreyas Iyer-led Indian cricket team will look to wrap up the five-match T20I series against New Zealand 4-1 when the two teams lock horns in the fifth and final match in Hamilton on Sunday. India had already clinched the series after winning the third T20I by six wickets in Wellington.
India’s defeat in the fourth T20I in Auckland raised concerns in both their bowling and batting departments.
After opting to field, ‘s side conceded 259/7 in 20 overs, New Zealand’s highest-ever T20I total against . Mayank Yadav was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/48, but the likes of Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/64) and Axar Patel (1/43) went for too many runs.
Glenn Phillips led the hosts’ batting effort with a blistering 107 off 49 deliveries, while Michael Bracewell contributed 65 off just 25 balls. The duo added 115 runs for the fifth wicket in 40 deliveries, putting New Zealand in a commanding position.
India only managed to respond with a total of 172/9 from 20 overs. Jacob Duffy dismantled the top order with figures of 4/23, including the wickets of Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan in the opening over.
Tilak Varma top-scored for India with 35 runs. India’s bowling unit will be keen to improve its execution, particularly against ‘s aggressive middle order. The final match also provides an opportunity for the visitors to assess their bench strength.
India and New Zealand have played 35 T20Is against each other, with India having won 20 of these matches. New Zealand, on the other hand, have won just 12 matches.
Three matches have ended in ties, with India winning the Super Over on two occasions, whereas a Super Over didn’t take place during a T20I between the two teams in Napier in November 2022. That match was declared a tie on the basis of Duckworth Lewis-Stern (DLS) method.
Fans in India can watch the India vs New Zealand fifth T20I on the Sony Sports Network TV channels. The match will be telecast on multiple channels, including English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. The match will also be streamed LIVE on the Sony LIV app and website.
India: Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi/Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh/Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Yadav.
New Zealand: Finn Allen, Tim Seifert (wk), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Bevon Jacobs, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Nathan Smith, Adam Milne, Jacob Duffy, Matthew Fisher.
