New Zealand secured a convincing seven-wicket victory over India in the final T20 international in Hamilton, successfully chasing down a target of 192 with two overs to spare. Despite the defeat, India claimed the five-match series 3-2 after a dominant campaign, but the hosts signed off in style thanks to an aggressive batting display.
Chasing 192 for victory, New Zealand lost early momentum when Finn Allen fell for nine after top-edging Arshdeep Singh to Ishan Kishan. However, opener Tim Seifert capitalized on an early dropped catch to launch a fierce counter-attack, powering the home side through the initial phases of the innings.
Seifert fell agonisingly short of a maiden T20 international century, dismissed for a blistering 93 off just 50 deliveries. His commanding knock included 11 fours and five sixes before he played an inside edge onto his stumps from the bowling of Nitish Kumar Reddy.
Glenn Phillips maintained his exceptional form throughout the series, providing valuable support and anchoring the run chase with an unbeaten 65 from 38 balls. Phillips surpassed Phil Salt's previous record of 331 runs to establish a new benchmark of 341 runs for the most runs scored in a five-match T20I bilateral series.
The pair combined for a destructive 86-run partnership that effectively broke the back of the Indian bowling attack. Phillips ultimately hit the winning boundary through third man to seal the comprehensive victory with 12 balls remaining.
Earlier in the match, New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner won the toss and elected to field first on a surface that provided early assistance to the seamers. Adam Milne wreaked havoc with the new ball, finishing with brilliant figures of four wickets for 19 runs in his four overs.
India suffered a disastrous start to their innings, losing openers Abhishek Sharma for a duck and Sanju Samson for four inside the powerplay. The visitors were left struggling at 19-2 inside the fourth over before a substantial recovery began.
Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer steadied the innings with a rapid 93-run partnership off just 43 deliveries. Kishan reached his half-century in 28 balls before departing for 61, while Iyer also notched a fifty off 22 deliveries before falling to Nathan Smith.
Naman Dhir contributed a useful cameo of 33 runs from 23 balls in the middle order, but India lost momentum during the death overs. Despite the late slide, the visitors managed to post a competitive total of 191-8 from their allotted 20 overs.
The two teams will now transition formats and prepare for an upcoming five-match one-day international series, which is scheduled to commence on 4 November.
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