Seifert and Phillips lead New Zealand to seven-wicket win in Hamilton, but India take T20I series 3-2

New Zealand won the fifth and final T20 International against India by seven wickets at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Sunday. India still took the five-match series 3-2, after winning the first three games.

Chasing 192, the hosts got home with more than two overs to spare. Opener Tim Seifert scored 93 off 50 balls with 11 fours and five sixes before Nitish Kumar Reddy bowled him seven short of a century. Glenn Phillips finished unbeaten on 65 off 38 balls, his fourth score of fifty or more in the series.

India's innings

Mitchell Santner won the toss for the first time in the series and chose to bowl, and his seamers made early breakthroughs. India slipped to 19 for 2 after openers Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson fell cheaply. Ishan Kishan, who hit 61 with five fours and five sixes, and captain Shreyas Iyer, who made 50 off 23 balls, rebuilt the innings with a third-wicket stand of 93.

Naman Dhir (33 off 23) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (22 off 17) took India to 191 for 8. Fast bowler Adam Milne was the standout bowler, taking 4 for 19 in his four overs, and Nathan Smith also picked up two wickets.

The chase

Arshdeep Singh bowled Finn Allen for 2 early on, but Seifert attacked from the start and New Zealand reached 59 for 1 at the end of the powerplay. Daryl Mitchell added a quick 29 before falling to Varun Chakravarthy, who was playing his first match of the series. Phillips then guided the chase home after Seifert was out.

India recalled Bhuvneshwar Kumar and brought in Chakravarthy for this game, while New Zealand brought back Blair Tickner. New Zealand also won the fourth match in Auckland by 87 runs, so India ended the series with two defeats in a row.

What it means for India

The series win on New Zealand soil is a positive result for Iyer's side, which won the first three games by four, four and six wickets. The two closing defeats, though, exposed problems with India's powerplay batting and their bowling at the death against an in-form middle order.