Hamilton: A strong batting show from Tim Seifert and Glenn Phillips guided New Zealand to an impressive seven-wicket win over India in the fifth and final T20I of the series at Seddon Park here on Sunday.
Phillips (65*) created the record for scoring the most runs by a batter in a single bilateral series as the Kiwi star capped off a brilliant series with another half-century, while Seifert (93) registered his first noteworthy knock of the series as the duo led the Kiwis to chase down 192, their new highest T20I chase against India with seven wickets in hand and 12 balls to spare.
The Indian bowlers were found wanting in discipline, and the New Zealand batters were too strong for them on the day. Phillips made an unbeaten 65 as he scored his fourth fifty of the series.
He also broke Phil Salt’s record for most runs in a single bilateral series, as the Kiwi star now has 341 runs in the five-match series, while Salt had scored 331 against West Indies in a five-match series in 2023.
While Seifert and Phillips starred for New Zealand, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy and Nitish Kumar Reddy picked up the only wickets for India.
New Zealand were jolted at the start of their chase as they lost Finn Allen early when Arshdeep Singh got the Kiwi opener caught at deep mid-wicket in the second over.
Seifert was handed a lifeline on 13 in the fourth over by Naman Dhir as Arshdeep missed his man. Daryl Mitchell and Seifert kept going and took the hosts to 59/1 at the end of the powerplay as Bhuvneshwar Kumar was hit for 20 runs in the sixth one.
Varun Chakaravarthy came in and sent some jitters to the Kiwis with some LBW appeals, and he got Mitchell in the ninth over, but that did not deter the hosts.
In-form Phillips joined Seifert and the two put up 86 runs from 42 balls for the third wicket. Their strong scoring rate took the game away from India.
India tried Abhishek Sharma after New Zealand were 96/2 after 10 overs, but he could not inspire a comeback. Shreyas brought back Arshdeep for the next over before Varun was taken for 18 runs in the 13th over as the Kiwis raced to 138/2.
With 29 needed off 30 balls, Nitish got Seifert for 93 as the Kiwi opener played on, but Phillips was there, and he got to his fourth fifty of the series in the 17th over. He then helped the team cross the finishing line in the 18th over as he hit Bhuvi for a couple of fours as New Zealand completed their highest T20I chase against India.
Earlier, India managed to score 191/8 after Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer scored half centuries. Kishan (61) and Shreyas (50) put up a 93-run partnership for the third wicket and helped the visitors recover from the early hiccup they suffered after losing openers Abhishek Sharma (1) and Sanju Samson (4) cheaply.
Later, Naman Dhir (33) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (22) came up with mini cameos to lead the Men in Blue but they would feel that India were a little short at the end of the innings as they kept losing wickets.
Adam Milne, who has a strong record in Hamilton, starred with 4-19 in his four overs, while Nathan Smith and the incoming Blair Tickner also picked up a couple each to not let India go past 200.
Still, India won the series 3-2, as they had clinched the first three T20Is before losing the next two matches.
Brief Scores: India 191/8 in 20 overs (Ishan Kishan 61, Shreyas Iyer 50; Adam Milne 4-19, Nathan Smith 2-28) lose to New Zealand (Tim Seifert 93, Glenn Phillips 65*; Nitish Kumar Reddy 1-19, Arshdeep Singh 1-40) by seven wickets.
(IANS)
