Hamilton: India will look to sign off their tour of New Zealand with a 4-1 series win when the two sides meet in the fifth and final T20I at Seddon Park on Sunday, November 1, with the hosts riding the momentum of their stunning 87-run victory at Eden Park.
India have already secured the series, leading 3-1, but Friday’s defeat in Auckland was a jolt. Asked to bat first, New Zealand posted 259 for 7 — their highest-ever T20I total on home soil — on the back of Glenn Phillips’ breathtaking 107 off just 49 balls, including 10 sixes, and Michael Bracewell’s 65 off 25. Their 115-run stand came off only 41 deliveries and blew the game open. India’s reply never recovered from Jacob Duffy’s double strike in the opening over, which removed Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan, and the visitors were held to 172 for 9, with Tilak Varma’s 35 the top score.
The finale moves to Seddon Park, a venue known for high-scoring T20 cricket. The pitch is expected to favour the batters, with some early assistance for the seamers with the new ball, and the numbers point to another run-fest: across the last six T20 matches at the ground, the average first-innings score is 186.1 and the average match aggregate 351.3, with the team batting first winning 83.3 per cent of those games. The toss, at 12:30 PM IST (8:00 PM local time), could therefore be more influential than usual.
India’s team selection will be the big talking point. With the series already won, former cricketer Dinesh Karthik has suggested the visitors could rest some of their frontline players — naming Abhishek Sharma and Arshdeep Singh — to give teenage sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi a game. Suryavanshi, who smashed a 19-ball 45 in the third T20I in Wellington, was on the bench in Auckland after Ishan Kishan recovered from injury. There is also a case for a specialist spinner, with Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav yet to play a match in the series.
On form, the key battles pick themselves. Abhishek Sharma, who has scored 1,012 T20I runs in 2026, will look to give India another flying start, while captain Shreyas Iyer and Tilak Varma must steady the middle order after the Auckland collapse. For New Zealand, Phillips and Bracewell are the danger men, Duffy — who took 4 for 23 in the fourth match — leads a pace attack missing the injured Lockie Ferguson, and captain Mitchell Santner holds the all-round balance together. India have won 19 of the 26 previous T20I meetings between the sides, but New Zealand’s Auckland batting blitz showed how quickly that history can be set aside.
New Zealand will target a 3-2 scoreline to take into the ODI leg of the tour; India will want a 4-1 statement to close out a series they have dominated. Either way, Hamilton should be high-scoring — and after Auckland, neither bowling attack will be taking anything for granted.
Read our 4th T20I report here: https://t20star.com/phillips-record-107-powers-new-zealand-to-87-run-win-over-india-as-hosts-end-losing-streak-at-eden-park/
Read our 4th T20I preview here: https://t20star.com/india-eye-4-0-lead-at-eden-park-as-depleted-new-zealand-fight-to-stay-alive-in-4th-t20i/
Probable playing XIs — New Zealand: Finn Allen, Tim Seifert (WK), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (C), Bevon Jacobs, Nathan Smith, Adam Milne, Matthews Fisher, Jacob Duffy. India: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (C), Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mayank Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav.
