No toss, no luck: Seifert, Phillips blow away one-dimensional India in 5th T20I

Shreyas Iyer’s India may have won the five-match T20I series comprehensively, but two embarrassing losses in the last two matches have left the players and team management red-faced.

On Sunday 1 November, playing the fifth and final T20I of the series, India were beaten by Mitchell Santner’s side, who suffered a 7-wicket defeat in Hamilton. Opener Tim Seifert led the charge for the hosts, hitting a brilliant 93 off just 50 balls as New Zealand chased down a target of 192 in 18 overs.

New Zealand vs India 5th T20I: Highlights

INDIA LOSE THE TOSS LOSE THE MATCH

This was the first match of the series in which India lost the toss and were sent in to bat. The strength of the Indian batting order crumbled almost immediately as the swinging openers failed to stand up to the seam and swing on the fresh surface at Seddon Park.

It didn’t even take six balls for the first wicket to fall as Abhishek Sharma mis-dropped Jacob Duffy at mid-on. Sanju Samson quickly followed and got an edge off Michael Bracewell who was caught at covers.

This was Sanju’s fourth failure in the T20I series after he started with a knock of 67 runs in the opening game. His continued struggles were once again brought into focus by the fact that youngster Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was not named in the line-up despite this match being a dead rubber.

After losing two quick wickets in the power over, India needed some resistance. Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer provided the required stability, not only stopping the fall of wickets but also hitting the bowlers.

Ishan Kishan, in particular, was exceptional, taking both spin and pace and reaching his fifty in just 28 balls. Shreyas Iyer was no less impressive with the bat, providing support to Kishan through fluent knocking at the other end.

At the halfway mark, India recovered to 111/2.

The breakthrough came soon after the drinks break when Blair Tickner and Nathan Smith used their pace to dismiss both Kishan and Shreyas, giving New Zealand a much-needed boost.

New Zealand did well in the second half of the innings. However, they would not have conceded 191 runs if their fielders had been a little more cooperative on Sunday.

Fielding has been a concern for the hosts throughout the series and they will likely have to take a closer look at their standards as they build for the 2028 T20 World Cup to be held in their part of the world.

Adam Milne was the star of the show and dominated India in the opening and closing spells. He finished with figures of 4/19 from his four overs. Nathan Smith and Tickner claimed two wickets apiece as India were restricted to 191/8 in their 20 overs.

SEIFERT RAPPS TO INDIA

A target of 192 was not expected to be difficult as India have shown in the first three T20Is of the series. They won those matches with a simple trick: win the toss, decide to throw the ball first and then chase the target.

Apart from Finn Allen’s goal in the second over, New Zealand dominated the chase. Seifert found support from Daryl Mitchell (29 off 16) and Glenn Phillips, who followed up their century with another half-century in the match.

Perhaps it was a shame that Phillips couldn’t replicate that kind of batting form in the first three games of the series. He eventually hit the winning runs, smashing two boundaries in two balls in the 18th over, splitting the fielder through fine leg and third man to seal a comprehensive victory in the T20I final.

But India are unlikely to worry too much about the result, with the T20 World Cup in 2028 still a long way to go. But what they should maybe take a good, hard look at is whether they’re doing enough experiments at a time when the results of bilaterals don’t really matter. And if they allow the fear of losing to dictate their decisions.

– The end