New Zealand underline batting might in solid Hamilton chase

Scorecard

Tim Seifert and Glenn Phillips led New Zealand’s charge with a blistering 86-run partnership, guiding the Black Caps to a seven-wicket victory in the final T20I.

Seifert narrowly missed out on a maiden T20I century, while Phillips struck another half-century.

New Zealand completed the chase with two overs to spare, signing off with a win as India took the series 3-2.

Chasing 192, New Zealand lost Finn Allen early for 9 when he top-edged Arshdeep Singh to Ishan Kishan. However, Seifert capitalised on an early dropped catch, launching a fierce counter-attack to power New Zealand to 59/1 by the end of the powerplay. Seifert completed a 34-ball fifty to keep the chase on track.

India pulled back slightly when Varun Chakravarthy removed Daryl Mitchell (29) thanks to a diving catch by Abhishek Sharma at long-off, but Seifert was in no mood to stop.

The opener came agonisingly close to a maiden T20I century, smashing 93 off just 50 deliveries, including 11 fours and five sixes. His innings came to an end when he attempted to play a good-length delivery from Nitish Kumar Reddy through the covers, only to get a thick inside edge onto his stumps.

At the other end, Glenn Phillips continued his impressive form in the series. He registered another powerful half-century and moved past Phil Salt's tally of 331 runs to set a new record for the most runs (341) in a five-match T20I bilateral series.

Phillips (65 off 38 balls) remained unbeaten as he guided New Zealand to the target, hitting the winning boundary through third man. The hosts completed a seven-wicket victory with two overs to spare.

Earlier, New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner won the toss and elected to field first on a surface offering early assistance to the seamers. 

India suffered a forgettable start as openers Abhishek Sharma (0) and Sanju Samson (4) fell cheaply within the powerplay to Adam Milne (4/19), leaving the visitors reeling at 19/2 in 3.1 overs. 

However, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer turned the tide with a fiery 93-run partnership off just 43 balls. Kishan brought up his fifty off 28 balls before departing for 61, while Iyer reached his half-century off 22 balls before getting caught off Nathan Smith on the very next delivery.

Despite the middle-order consolidation and a useful cameo of 33 off 23 balls from Naman Dhir, India lost momentum in the death overs. Milne was the standout bowler for the Black Caps, as India ended at 191/8 in 20 overs.

The teams will now switch formats, with a five-match ODI series beginning on 4 November.

Series result:

First T20I: 22 October, Christchurch (India won by four wickets)

Second T20I: 24 October, Christchurch (India won by four wickets)

Third T20I: 27 October, Wellington (India won by six wickets)

Fourth T20I: 30 October, Auckland (New Zealand won by 87 runs)

Fifth T20I: 1 November, Hamilton (New Zealand won by 7 wickets)