Thiruvananthapuram: Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh claimed his second five-wicket haul in T20Is as India defeated New Zealand by 46 runs in the fifth match to seal the series 4-1 at the Greenfield International Stadium on Saturday.
India, who opted to bat first, posted a formidable 271/5 with Ishan Kishan smashing a breath-taking 42-ball maiden T20I century and captain Suryakumar Yadav contributing a fine 63. Hardik Pandya added late fireworks with 42 off 17 balls as India recorded their third-highest total in the format.
New Zealand’s chase was powered by a returning Finn Allen, who struck 80 off 38 balls in a blistering start, but his dismissal triggered a collapse. Despite reaching 225, the visitors were bowled out for 225 in 19.4 overs. Arshdeep, who conceded 40 runs in his first two overs, returned strongly to finish with figures of 5-51, and supported by spinners Axar Patel (3-33) and Varun Chakaravarthy (1-36).
The victory capped a dominant series for India, who made several changes in the final game but maintained control throughout. Kishan’s role behind the stumps in place of Sanju Samson also hinted at possible playing eleven plans for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
New Zealand were off to an eventful start as Arshdeep’s opening over produced three boundaries from Allen, even as the pacer had Tim Seifert chipping straight to midwicket. Allen, returning to the side for the first time since March 2025, continued his aggressive approach. He raced to 37 off just 14 balls, punishing Arshdeep with stand-and-deliver strokes in a 23-run third over featuring four boundaries and a six.
With Rachin Ravindra hanging around, Aleen then showcased his range against Jasprit Bumrah and Chakaravarthy, flat-batting a length ball over long-on and pulling with authority to bring up his half-century in just 22 balls. Allen dispatched Chakaravarthy and Axar for a six each as New Zealand ended the powerplay at 79 for one – their best-ever score in this phase against India in T20Is – silencing the home crowd.
Allen and Ravindra further capitalised on India’s spinners by striking sixes off Chakravarthy in the eighth over to push the score past 100. The dew factor continued to influence India’s bowlers, who largely avoided bowling fuller lengths. India finally struck back in the ninth over when Axar dismissed Allen for a blazing 80 off 38 balls.
Attempting to muscle one over the leg-side, Allen holed out to long-on, and Axar followed it up by having Glenn Phillips hole out to long-off. Arshdeep returned strongly in his second spell – removing Ravindra for 30 with a cleverly disguised knuckle-ball bouncer that took a top-edge on the hook to deep backward square leg, while Mitchell Santner could ballon a sharp short delivery to cover and fell for a duck.
Daryl Mitchell added some fireworks by driving and pulling Bumrah for a four and two sixes, as 22 runs came off the 15th over. But India continued to make breakthroughs – Bevon Jacobs was castled by a googly from Chakaravarthy, while Kyle Jamieson and Mitchell fell in quick succession to give Arshdeep his five-for.
After Axar completed his three-fer, Ish Sodhi unfurled lofty hits via a four and three sixes before being dismissed by Rinku Singh to complete an emphatic win for India exactly a week before the T20 World Cup begins.
Brief Scores: India 271/5 in 20 overs (Ishan Kishan 103, Suryakumar Yadav 63; Lockie Ferguson 2-41, Jacob Duffy 1-53) beat New Zealand 225 in 19.4 overs (Finn Allen 80, Rachin Ravindra 30; Arshdeep Singh 5-50, Axar Patel 3-33) by 46 runs
(IANS)
