Tim Seifert rode his luck and scored 93 runs off 50 balls to power New Zealand to a convincing win over India. Tim Seifert was awesome, but before that, the Kiwi bowlers, led by Adam Milne’s 4-wicket haul, helped them restrict India to 191/8. Ishan Kishan made 61, while Shreyas Iyer made 50, and others like Naman Dhir and Nitish Kumar Reddy chipped in down the order. But the total was inadequate.
In reply, Finn Allen fell early. Tim Seifert got a lifeline on 13 by Naman Dhir, and he took advantage of it by scoring 93 runs off 50 balls, 80 runs from the dropped catch, while Glenn Phillips was Mr. Consistent with his unbeaten 65 off 38 balls as New Zealand trounced India by 7 wickets with 2 overs to spare. New Zealand finished at 195/3 in 18 overs, winning by 7 wickets. India won the series 3-2.
Adam Milne’s 4-wicket haul limits India to 191/8 in 20 overs
Put into bat first for the first time in this series, keeper-batter Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma came out to open the batting for India while Jacob Duffy had the ball in hand for New Zealand. It was a slow start for India as the opening duo added 2 runs for the first wicket before Abhishek fell for 1 off 2 balls to Adam Milne. Ishan Kishan came out to bat next. Ishan came and looked in good flow while Samson struggled at the crease. The duo added 17 runs for the second wicket before Samson fell for 4 off 10 balls to Milne.
Captain Shreyas Iyer came out to bat next. Ishan and Shreyas got together as India were in need of a partnership and to up the scoring rate. The duo settled in as Ishan was the aggressor while Shreyas got going as well. The duo took India to 50/2 in 6 overs of the powerplay. They carried on post the power play and aced the initial 4 overs of the middle phase. Shreyas got going as well as the duo complemented each other well.
Bracewell got punished as the 10th over bowled by him went for 27 runs. Shreyas miscued a ball up in the air in the same over as Blair Tickner dropped a sitter at short fine leg. Iyer and Ishan were set as the 10th over meant India were 111/2 in 10 overs as India looked in pole position to get 200+. But New Zealand started pulling things back in overs 11-15 through tight bowling and flurry of wickets.
Ishan and Shreyas had added 93 runs for the third wicket before Ishan fell after the break for a well-made 61 off 32 balls with 5 fours and 5 sixes to his name to Blair Tickner. Tilak Varma came out to bat next and it was a struggle for Tilak in the middle. Tilak and Shreyas added 11 runs for the 4th wicket, with Iyer getting to his fifty and then getting out. Shreyas fell for 50 off 23 with 3 fours and 4 sixes to his name to Nathan Smith. Naman Dhir came out to bat next.
Naman and Tilak managed to add 10 runs to the tally before Tilak fell for 6 off 8 balls to Smith. Nitish Kumar Reddy came out to bat next with India at 133/5 in 13.5 overs. India were in need of a partnership as Naman and Nitish applied themselves to build one partnership. Naman was also dropped by deep cover as Milne put down a sitter, with New Zealand dropping 15 catches in the series. Naman and Nitish took the game deep.
The duo put on 46 runs for the 6th wicket before Naman fell for 33 off 23 balls with 4 fours and one six to his name to Blair Tickner. Bhuvneshwar Kumar came out to bat next. Nitish also played well while he was there and added 6 runs for the 7th wicket with Bhuvneshwar before Nitish fell for 22 off 17 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name to Milne. Prince Yadav came out to bat next.
Bhuvneshwar hit a boundary as well to show his prowess with the bat. Bhuvneshwar added 5 runs with Prince for the 8th wicket before Bhuvneshwar fell for 6 off 4 balls with one four to his name to Adam Milne. Arshdeep Singh joined Prince Yadav in the middle with one ball to go in the innings, and the left-hander got himself off the mark to end the innings. Prince was unbeaten on 0 off 1 ball while Arshdeep was unbeaten on 1 off 1 ball. 7 extras were given by the fielding side as India finished with 191/8 in 20 overs.
The New Zealand bowlers put in an excellent bowling display. Adam Milne finished with 4/19 in 4 overs. Nathan Smith finished with 2/28 in 3 overs. Blair Tickner finished with 2/38 in 4 overs. Jacob Duffy finished with 0/27 in 3 overs. Mitchell Santner finished with 0/39 in 4 overs. Michael Bracewell finished with 0/38 in 2 overs. This meant that New Zealand needed 192 runs to win off 20 overs to make it 2-3 in the series.
Tim Seifert & Glenn Phillips’ swashbuckling innings takes New over the line with 2 overs to spare
Chasing 192 runs for the win, keeper-batter Tim Seifert and Finn Allen came out to open the batting for New Zealand while Bhuvneshwar Kumar had the ball in hand for India. India started well with the ball in hand and kept things tight initially. The opening duo added 9 runs for the first wicket before Allen fell for 2 off 3 balls to Arshdeep Singh. Daryl Mitchell came out to bat next.
Seifert was struggling out there and going at over run a ball when, on 13*, the big moment came of the match. Seifert hit this straight to Naman Dhir at deep backward point, where he put it down, and Arshdeep Singh was the unfortunate bowler. Once the dropped catch happened, the shoulders dropped, and Seifert went to another level if we are being brutally honest. Mitchell took on the bowling, and then it was an attack from both ends as well. The runs started to flow suddenly as New Zealand reached 59/1 in 6 overs.
The duo carried on post the power play. The duo of Mitchell and Seifert added 73 crucial runs for the second wicket before Mitchell fell for 29 off 16 balls with 4 sixes to his name to the returning Varun Chakaravarthy. Abhishek Sharma took a good catch running in from the deep. Glenn Phillips came out to bat next. Phillips and Seifert got together and applied themselves out there. They took New Zealand to 96/2 in 10 overs at the halfway stage of the game.
The duo of Seifert and Phillips took the game away from India in overs 11-15 with the bat in hand. Seifert and Phillips showed their class. Seifert roared back into form while Phillips continued his rich vein of form. The duo added another crucial and match-winning 86 runs for the third wicket, and Seifert got into the 90s. With Seifert set for his maiden T20I hundred, he was on 93* when he chopped it back onto the stumps for 93 runs off 50 balls with 11 fours and 5 sixes to his name to Nitish Kumar Reddy.
Bevon-John Jacobs came out to bat next. The Kiwis were in touching distance of a win as Jacobs hardly got the strike. Phillips took the bull by the horns and was in a hurry to finish the game and got yet another half-century. Phillips got to his half-century and got the highest score by an individual in a bilateral series. He hit the winning runs.
The duo of Jacobs and Phillips added 27 runs off 15 balls unbeaten as New Zealand finished at 195/3 in 18 overs. Phillips was unbeaten on 65 off 38 balls with 8 fours and 3 sixes to his name, while Jacobs stayed unbeaten on 1 off 1 ball. 5 extras were given by the fielding side.
It was a tough outing yet again for the Indian bowlers. Arshdeep Singh finished with 1/40 in 4 overs. Varun Chakaravarthy finished with 1/45 in 4 overs. Nitish Kumar Reddy finished with 1/19 in 2 overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar finished with 0/41 in 4 overs. Prince Yadav finished with 0/35 in 3 overs. Abhishek Sharma bowled an over for 13 runs. So, New Zealand won this game by 7 wickets with 2 overs to spare. India wins the series 3-2. Adam Milne was awarded the Player of the Match while Glenn Phillips was awarded the Player of the Series.
What Lies Ahead
So, the 5-match T20I series is done and dusted with India winning it 3-2. Next up is the 5-match ODI series. The series starts at Eden Park, Auckland, on Wednesday, November 4th, where the 1st ODI between New Zealand and India takes place from 7:30 AM IST onwards. Shubman Gill will lead India while Santner will lead New Zealand as the iconic duo of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma return to the field.
An important ODI series in the lead-up to the 2027 ODI World Cup coming up. Let’s see how the ODIs shape up from here.
Also Read: NZ vs IND: Adam Milne’s 4-Wicket Haul Restricts India To 191/8