India meet New Zealand in the fifth and final T20I at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Sunday, 1 November, with play set to start at 12:30 PM IST. India lead the five-match series 3-1, so the closing game gives the visitors a chance to finish with a 4-1 scoreline. The India vs New Zealand 5th T20I also gives New Zealand a chance to end a series they have already lost with a second win in a row.
India won the first three matches to settle the series, then lost the fourth match in Auckland on Friday by 87 runs. New Zealand posted 259 for 7 at Eden Park, and India were held to 172 for 9 in reply. That result changed the feel of the India vs New Zealand 5th T20I. It stopped being a formality and became a test of how India respond after a heavy defeat.
India vs New Zealand 5th T20I: series position after Auckland
Glenn Phillips scored 107 from 49 balls in Auckland, and Michael Bracewell made 65 from 25 balls as New Zealand set their highest T20I total against India. The India vs New Zealand 5th T20I now asks a plain question of the visitors: can the bowling group hold New Zealand to a total the batters can chase on a ground with short boundaries.
Across the series so far, Phillips has 276 runs from four matches. Abhishek Sharma is India’s leading run scorer in the series with 196 runs at a strike rate of 227.91, according to Cricket Addictor. Mitchell Santner has been New Zealand’s most effective bowler in the series with nine wickets at an economy rate of 6.73.
Records in reach for Phillips and Abhishek Sharma
Phillips needs 15 runs to pass Mark Chapman’s 290 runs against Pakistan in 2023, the most by a New Zealand batter in a five-match bilateral T20I series, according to CricViz figures quoted in preview coverage. He needs 56 runs to pass Phil Salt’s 331 runs for England against West Indies in 2023, the record for the most runs in a bilateral T20I series.
In the India vs New Zealand 5th T20I, Abhishek Sharma has a record of his own in sight. Suryakumar Yadav made 1,164 T20I runs in 2022, the most by an Indian batter in a calendar year. SportsAdda reported that Abhishek made 27 at Eden Park and sits 12 runs short of that mark, so 13 runs in Hamilton would take him past it. Ishan Kishan is also close to the same calendar-year mark, which adds another thread to the opening overs.
India vs New Zealand 5th T20I: selection questions for India
India are expected to consider changes after the Auckland defeat. The most discussed change involves Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who played two games after Ishan Kishan was injured during the first T20I. Kishan regained fitness before the fourth T20I and returned to the side, while Sooryavanshi, 15, could come back in Hamilton. Sanju Samson made 67 in the series opener in Christchurch, then scored 14, 18 and 4 in the next three games, and IANS reported that he could make way.
Captain Shreyas Iyer has also had a lean run in the format, with scores of 40, 1, 16, 22, 42, 7, 5 and 22 in his last eight innings, according to IANS. Spin-bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule hinted that wrist spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy could play in Hamilton if conditions demand it. That change would cost India batting depth, since Naman Dhir would be the player most likely to drop out, and Dhir also offers part-time off spin.
For New Zealand, the selection questions for the India vs New Zealand 5th T20I are smaller. Tim Seifert has scored 36 runs from four innings, and Devon Conway is an option to replace him. Phillips, Mitchell and Bracewell remain the middle-order core, with Santner leading the side and Duffy leading the pace attack.
India vs New Zealand 5th T20I: pitch, weather and where to watch
Seddon Park has short boundaries and pitches that are generally true and flat, according to CricTracker, so batters should find runs and bowlers will have little margin for error. Khel Now put the par score at the ground at around 200 to 210. Forecasts quoted in preview coverage differed, with one pointing to a cloudy evening around 16 degrees and another to clear weather between 6 and 21 degrees with no significant rain threat.
The India vs New Zealand 5th T20I will be shown live on the Sony Sports Network channels on television, with live streaming on the SonyLIV app and website. After Hamilton, the focus moves to the five-match ODI series, which starts on 4 November, so the India vs New Zealand 5th T20I is the last T20I of the tour.