Hamilton, November 1, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Half-centuries from Ishan Kishan and captain Shreyas Iyer helped India recover from an early batting collapse and post 191/8 in the fifth and final T20I against New Zealand at Seddon Park on Sunday.
Kishan scored 61, while Iyer contributed 50 as the pair stitched together a 93-run partnership for the third wicket off just 43 balls after India lost openers Abhishek Sharma (1) and Sanju Samson (4) cheaply.
Naman Dhir (33) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (22) added useful runs through a 46-run partnership for the sixth wicket, but India’s progress was restricted by regular wickets in the closing overs.
Adam Milne was the pick of the New Zealand bowlers, claiming 4/19 in his four overs. Nathan Smith and Blair Tickner picked up two wickets each to prevent India from crossing the 200-run mark.
India were also given a few opportunities through dropped catches and a no-ball from Smith but could not fully capitalise on them.
Asked to bat first after losing the toss for the first time in the series, India got off to a poor start as New Zealand’s seamers exploited the early movement.
Milne dismissed Abhishek in the second over before sending Samson back in the fourth. Samson, who managed just four runs off 10 balls, edged a leading delivery that was caught at cover.
Kishan and Iyer then steadied the innings, taking India to 50/2 at the end of the powerplay. The two batters accelerated after that, putting pressure on the New Zealand bowlers during the middle overs.
Kishan dominated captain Mitchell Santner after the powerplay and also survived a spectacular fielding attempt by Finn Allen at the long-on boundary. Allen tried to complete a catch on the rebound after stepping outside the boundary, but his right foot was believed to have touched the ground while he was in contact with the ball.
The Indian pair continued their assault and took 27 runs off Michael Bracewell’s 10th over. Tickner also dropped Iyer on the fourth ball of the over.
New Zealand eventually broke the partnership when Tickner dismissed Kishan, who was caught at deep mid-wicket. Smith then removed Iyer with a short delivery, with Tim Seifert completing the catch.
Smith initially had Tilak Varma caught at point, but the delivery was ruled a no-ball after he overstepped. He dismissed Varma later in the same over with a short ball, taking a caught-and-bowled return catch.
Dhir and Nitish attempted to rebuild the innings, with Dhir also receiving a reprieve when Milne dropped him at sweeper cover in the 16th over.
Dhir was eventually dismissed by Tickner in the 19th over, while Nitish fell in the final over. Bhuvneshwar Kumar struck a boundary towards the end as India finished at 191/8 in their allotted 20 overs.
Brief Scores: India 191/8 in 20 overs (Ishan Kishan 61, Shreyas Iyer 50, Naman Dhir 33, Nitish Kumar Reddy 22; Adam Milne 4/19, Nathan Smith 2/28) against New Zealand.
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