It was the same old story for New Zealand in this T20I series as they were literally thrashed this time by the hosts and Men in Blue India in all facets of the game. New Zealand were out bowled, out batted and out fielded by India and they went onto lose the match by 8 wickets with 60 balls left as they couldn’t defend 153 on the board. New Zealand may have had small moments to cherish but by and large were outplayed by India. We will try and decipher three reasons for their loss in third T20I.
Losing 3 wickets in the powerplay dents New Zealand.Â
New Zealand were put into bat by India and the Kiwis needed to get off to a fast start in order to put the runs on the board to challenge India. What followed was not ideal as they lost early wickets which put a brake on the scoring rate. It was so slow, that New Zealand never could recover from this predicament. Devon Conway was the first to depart as he got dismissed by Harshit Rana yet again. Rachin Ravindra too fell cheaply to Hardik Pandya.
Tim Seifert got a bit of a start but he too fell for 12 off 11 balls at the start of the 6th over to Jasprit Bumrah. It meant New Zealand were 34/3 in 5.1 overs and eventually 36/3 in 6 overs at the end of the powerplay. This phase really put New Zealand back something from which they could never really recover. Yes, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman and Mitchell Santner played some crucial knocks that helped New Zealand post 150+ but that score was nowhere near enough if not competitive. India proved that and how in the chase.
Looking ahead to the next game, New Zealand would like and want to get off to a better start and set things up in the powerplay overs. Powerplay is a phase to cash in and New Zealand simply failed to do so in this match. The New Zealand fans will be hoping the team gets off to a better start in the powerplay overs and lay the foundation for a big score to challenge the Indian batting might.
Leaking runs from both ends in the chase sealed the fate for New Zealand.Â
New Zealand needed a good start while defending 153 on the board. They did get off to a great start as Sanju Samson fell off the first ball of the innings to Matt Henry. But that was the last piece of joy for the Kiwis as the Indians came out all guns blazing after the fall of the first wicket. It was the Abhishek Sharma show as he blazed away in Guwahati while Ishan Kishan played a good cameo as well scoring 28 off 13 balls before being dismissed. But Abhishek was unstoppable.
Then Suryakumar Yadav came out to bat next and he too after taking his time in for first 8-9 balls switched gears and it was a treat for the Indian fans and spectators alike. New Zealand did not know what hit them and were all over the place bowling length balls and were duly punished by the Indian batters. The visitors just did not bowl the right lines and lengths and made things easy for the Indian power packed batters. The bowling is a big concern for New Zealand ahead of the World Cup as there is no one really in the bench that can improve this bowling line-up.
Looking ahead, New Zealand will look to bowl the right lines and lengths and make it a little challenging for the Indian batters. So far, in this series Indian batters have made merry against New Zealand bowlers in all three matches particularly in this game where they were clobbered to all parts of the ground. This game was the game where they were worst in terms of bowling. They will have to improve by leaps and bounds to challenge this strong Indian batting line-up.
Mitchell Santner having another off-day hurts the New Zealand team.Â
Captain Mitchell Santner had another average day with the ball and as captain one can say and this was another reason why they lost this game so badly. Starting from losing the toss, New Zealand huffed and puffed in the powerplay and managed to post 153/9 where Santner played an important role as he made a useful 27 off 17 balls that took New Zealand to what looked like a respectable score at that stage of the game on a pitch which just got better to bat on.
But things unravelled very quickly for Santner and company when they came to bowl. Yes, they got Samson out early. But the Indian team was in no mood to slow down and took down the New Zealand bowling. Mitchell Santner the captain was lost for ideas and didn’t know what hit him here in this match. He had a bad day with the ball too. Known as someone who can stem the flow of runs and keep things tight, Santner went for plenty and bowled 2 overs for 28 runs. It showed what a frazzled mind can lead to and he for a change struggled for control on the pitch.
Looking ahead to the final two T20Is, Santner will look to get his mojo back not only in his leadership capacity but also with the ball as he has had two games to forget back to back. Santner the bowler will want to step up to help Santner the captain as that will go a long way in improving things for New Zealand. It is seen that if Santner does well, New Zealand performs well and vice versa and it will be seen whether he can get his mojo back in the final two games. He is a class act no doubt but needs to step up to the plate.
What Lies Ahead.Â
So, the stage is set for the fourth T20I to be played in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday, 28th January, 2026 from 7 PM IST onwards. India have sealed the series 3-0 and will likely to continue the winning momentum. Can New Zealand stop this juggernaut and give them some respectability in this series. Only time will tell as we get set for the 4th T20I in coastal city of Visakhapatnam.
Also Read: IND vs NZ: 3 Reasons For New Zealand’s Humiliating Loss In 2nd T20I