Suryavanshi in Line? India's Likely Changes for Final T20

Hamilton, October 31: India are set to face New Zealand in the fifth and final T20 of the series at Seddon Park on Sunday. With a 3-1 lead already in hand, India will look to close the series on a high, and that could mean a few changes to the side that took the field in Auckland.

After winning the opening two games by four wickets each, India added a six-wicket win in the third match to take an unassailable lead. But a heavy 87-run defeat in the fourth match in Auckland has prompted the team management to revisit its thinking on the playing XI.

The biggest talking point is the possible return of Vaibhav Suryavanshi in place of Sanju Samson. Samson looked promising in Christchurch, where he scored 67 runs, but he has managed only 14, 18 and 4 in the innings that followed.

The form of captain Shreyas Iyer is also a concern. Iyer has not made a major score since his first T20 international century against West Indies in Lucknow. His last eight innings in the format have yielded 40, 1, 16, 22, 42, 7, 5 and 22 runs, and he will be eager to make a significant contribution in this match.

With five ODIs to follow the T20 series, the visiting team's attention is already on the next phase. For now, however, the focus is on finishing strongly. Naman Dhir and Nitish Kumar Reddy have been useful lower-order batters, but neither has yet made a strong impact with the ball.

Spin bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule has suggested that wrist spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy could be considered for Hamilton if conditions demand it. Including them would mean leaving out Naman Dhir.

New Zealand will look to Glenn Phillips for another big performance after his outstanding century in Auckland. Phillips has 276 runs in four matches. Only Mark Chapman's 290 runs against Pakistan in 2023 exceed that tally, making Phillips the leading New Zealand run-scorer in any five-match bilateral T20 series apart from Chapman's effort.

India squad: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Prince Yadav, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Mayank Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Kumar Kushagra.

New Zealand squad: Mitchell Santner (captain), Devon Conway (wicketkeeper), Tim Seifert, Finn Allen, Bevon Jacobs, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell, Josh Clarkson, Nathan Smith, Adam Milne, Jacob Duffy, Matt Fisher and Blair Tickner.