New Zealand had their moments but they crashed to a 46-run loss at the hands of India in Thiruvananthapuram in the 5th T20I as the hosts sealed a dominating 4-1 series win. New Zealand had their moments especially in the chase where they put up a spirited reply to India’s massive total but their bowling left a lot to be desired as practically everyone went for runs barring maybe Lockie Ferguson as Indian batters made merry. There were a few areas where New Zealand fell short and we will list those areas for you here.
Conceding 134 runs in the middle phase from overs 7-15 damaged New Zealand.Â
New Zealand lost the toss and had to bowl first this time. They did a fairly decent job in powerplay as they kept India down to 54 runs and picked up both the openers. The match was in balance after powerplay as Kiwis did better than India in the powerplay overs. But it is in the middle phase where India took the game away from New Zealand. The duo of Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav tore apart the Kiwi bowling who had no answers as their bowling was exposed in the middle phase of the game.
Credit to Ishan Kishan in particular for playing a blinder and taking the attack to the opposition while Surya played his part and trademark shots as well as New Zealand did not know what hit them. Yes, they are rotating the squad and resting and trying out few players but saying so, this bowling display albeit on a flat track will hurt the Kiwis a lot more. Take the example of Ish Sodhi. He was clobbered for 29 runs in an over by Shivam Dube in Game 4 and last night again went for 29 in an over this time by Ishan Kishan.
The pacers apart from Ferguson went the distance as well as New Zealand did not manage to break the Indians. Yes, Surya finally fell in the 15th over for 63 as New Zealand had one wicket to show for in the middle phase. But it was too little too late and this phase really set it up for India to maximise the death overs phase and get to 271 on the board. The middle phase is important in T20Is and this is where New Zealand lost the game.
New Zealand will want to improve their bowling and play the right combination in the World Cup. It is true pitches in this series has been batting friendly but they need to come up with better ideas and plans to do well in the World Cup. They have the team and explosive players to excel but need improvements in bowling to compete better in this tournament.
Losing 4/20 in the middle phase from overs 9-12 derailed New Zealand’s chances.Â
Chasing 272 for an unlikely win, New Zealand needed to have a perfect run chase. To be fair to them after losing Tim Seifert early in the first over, Finn Allen played an absolute blinder and gave a scare to the Indians with his explosive 80 off 38 balls while Rachin Ravindra played well as well. They aced the powerplay phase by getting 79/1 in 6 overs where India managed only 54 runs for the loss of 2 wickets. The middle phase was now going to be crucial for New Zealand to keep the tempo going as the required rate was quite high and remained so despite the start.
The duo of Allen and Ravindra put on 100 runs off 48 balls before Allen fell at the score of 117 in 9 overs. New Zealand took their score to 131/2 in 10 overs where India were 102/2 at the same stage. But the Drinks Break did wonders for India as the Men in Blue hit back after the break getting rid of Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, and captain Mitchell Santner in quick time as New Zealand lost 3 wickets for 6 runs after Drinks and 4/20 after the big partnership was broken. This mini collapse let the required rate go up and from there it was a bridge too far for New Zealand.
In an unlikely chase of 271, everything has to go perfect and even a phase of 3-4 overs going for the bowling side would mean the end of the match. That is what exactly happened and while New Zealand won’t be too perturbed with the batting, they would have wanted from a position where they were in to try and get even more closer to India’s tally. It can be seen that the middle overs phase in either innings played an important role in determining the outcome of the match. New Zealand will look to work on this and make sure such things don’t happen in the World Cup.
Too many New Zealand bowlers having an off-day didn’t help their cause.Â
New Zealand bowlers had a night to forget in Thiruvananthapuram as they went for plenty of runs. What didn’t help the Kiwis was multiple bowlers having an off-day. While India too found it tough, but they had bowlers taking wickets and having a better day. But for the Kiwis, apart from say a Lockie Ferguson, everyone had an off-day and went for plenty of runs.
Matt Henry did not play this game and New Zealand felt his absence in this game. Jacob Duffy went for 53 in his 4 overs while picking up a wicket. Kyle Jamieson went for 59 runs in 4 overs and picked up only one wicket. Ish Sodhi went for 29 in one of his overs and went for 48 in his 3 overs. Even the economical captain Mitchell Santner went for 60 runs in his 4 overs apart from taking a wicket. Glenn Phillips bowled only one over for 10 runs. Multiple bowlers leaking runs on a flat batting pitch did not help New Zealand at all.
Going ahead, New Zealand will look to improve on these areas and better their bowling in order to do well in the World Cup. The bowling seems to be more of a worry for New Zealand than batting at this stage but the Kiwis will find a way and get the job done in the end. But this is an area where they need to work on as multiple bowlers cannot afford to have an off-day. One bowler having an off-day is acceptable but not so many.
So, this ends the India-New Zealand T20I series which ends 4-1 in India’s favour. Next-up is World Cup for both teams. New Zealand has a warm-up game against USA while India plays South Africa before India plays USA in their opening game while New Zealand faces Afghanistan in their opening game. A lot to look forward to in T20 World Cup 2026.
Also Read: IND vs NZ: 3 Reasons For India’s Crushing Defeat In 4th T20I