Ishan and Iyer Blitz Falls Short as Seifert and Phillips Shine

A late-order fightback and a fiery middle-order blitz were not enough for India as New Zealand secured a seven-wicket win in the fifth T20 International in Hamilton. New Zealand overhauled a 192-run target in 18 overs, losing just three wickets along the way.

After Finn Allen's early dismissal for 2, Tim Seifert and Daryl Mitchell stabilised the chase. They shared a 73-run second-wicket stand in 42 balls. Mitchell fell for 29 off 16 balls. Seifert, meanwhile, reached 50 in 34 balls.

Glenn Phillips, who had been the leading run-scorer in the series, then joined Seifert and the pair added 86 runs for the third wicket off 42 balls. Seifert missed out on a century, falling for 93 off 50 balls. He hit 11 fours and five sixes.

Phillips finished on 65 not out off 38 balls. His innings included eight fours and three sixes, and it was his fourth half-century of the series. Bevon Jacobs was unbeaten on one as New Zealand completed the win.

Varun Chakravarthy, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Arshdeep Singh were the wicket-takers for India, with one scalp each.

India made 191 for 8 in their 20 overs. Their innings began poorly, with Abhishek Sharma out for 1 and Sanju Samson for 4. Ishan Kishan and captain Shreyas Iyer then rescued the innings, sharing a rapid 93-run third-wicket partnership in 43 balls.

Ishan was out for 61 off 32 balls, with five fours and five sixes. Iyer made 50 off 23 balls, hitting three fours and four sixes.

Tilak Varma managed just 6. Naman Dhir scored 33 off 23 balls, including four fours and a six, while Nitish Kumar Reddy made 22 off 17 balls before he was dismissed by Adam Milne. Bhuvneshwar Kumar made 6.

For New Zealand, Adam Milne was the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 19 in four overs. Nathan Smith and Blair Tickner each took two wickets.

Despite the defeat in the final match, India had already won the T20 series 3-2.