India beat New Zealand to end series on a high

The Indian cricket team beat New Zealand by 46 runs at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram to win the five-match T20I series 4-1 on Saturday.

Ishan Kishan (103 off 43 balls) was India’s top-scorer, while Arshdeep Singh was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with career-best figures of 5/51 in T20Is.

Chasing 272 to win, New Zealand came out all guns blazing but lost opener Tim Seifert in the first over after he was caught off Arshdeep Singh’s bowling

Tim Seifert’s dismissal, though, did little to slow down New Zealand’s chase as opener Finn Allen and Rachin Ravindra looked to take the attack to the Indian bowlers.

The duo put on a 100-run partnership for the second before Finn Allen, who had donned the role of aggressor, was dismissed for a 38-ball 80 in the ninth over.

Dangerman Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra and skipper Mitchell Santner followed Finn Allen back to the dugout in quick succession, ripping the momentum out of New Zealand’s chase as they slumped to 137/5 in the 12th over.

Arshdeep Singh, who had removed Rachin Ravindra and Mitchell Santner, also accounted for the scalps of Daryl Mitchell and Kyle Jamieson to bring up his maiden five-wicket haul in the format.

Axar Patel and Rinku Singh then took the last two New Zealand wickets as India went on to register a convincing 46-run win.

Earlier, India chose to bat first, with openers Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson providing a brisk start. However, both fell inside the powerplay to Lockie Ferguson, leaving the Men in Blue at 48/2 at the end of five overs.

Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav, India’s T20 captain, then joined forces to rebuild the hosts’ innings with a 137-run partnership that put them in commanding position.

After settling in, Ishan Kishan raced to a 28-ball fifty before upping the ante in emphatic fashion by tearing into the New Zealand attack to bring up a scintillating century off just 42 deliveries.

Ishan Kishan’s hundred was his maiden T20I ton and the fifth fastest by an Indian in the format.

At the other end, Suryakumar Yadav was also at his attacking best as he scored a rapid 63 off 30 balls before perishing in the 15th over. The knock also saw him become only the third Indian batter to cross the 3000-run mark in T20Is after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

Ishan Kishan, who was joined in the middle by all-rounder Hardik Pandya after Suryakumar’s dismissal, also fell a couple of overs later with India on 233/4.

After Kishan’s dismissal, Hardik Pandya took centrestage as he smashed a belligerent 17-ball 42 laced with four massive sixes.

Hardik Pandya fell in the last over, however, new batter Shivam Dube struck a six off the final ball of the innings to ensure India posted a mammoth total of 271/5 - their third-highest score in the format and highest against the Kiwis.

The five-match series was India’s last official assignment before the T20 World Cup 2026 begins on February 7. Defending champions India will face USA in their first match of the tournament on the opening day.

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