There was bedlam in Thiruvananthapuram as India and New Zealand combined to aggregate a monstrous 496 on the board. In a bat versus bat contest, the home side’s power-packed batting unit outmuscled the opponent to emerge victorious by 46 runs. Ishan Kishan was the man of the moment as he cracked a whirlwind hundred.
Kishan’s sterling performance in the fifth match of the T20I series will be the talking point going into the World Cup, especially in the backdrop of Sanju Samson once more failing with the bat. Interestingly, Kishan also took over wicketkeeping duties as India completed a 4-1 series win.
Kishan, who came out to bat at the fall of Samson’s wicket, made his intentions clear by thwacking a leg-cutter from Lockie Ferguson for a six over extra-cover. However, it was the introduction of spinners that brought the best out of him. He and Suryakumar Yadav combined to collect two sixes and a boundary off Mitchell Santner.
The southpaw then took his game to another level by smacking Ish Sodhi to all corners of the ground, with the leg-spinner going for 29 in that over. The highlight of his sparkling display was a stroke through mid-wicket. Kishan reached his hundred with one more blow into the stands.
Suryakumar’s 30-ball breezy 63 also has to be mentioned. The India skipper shared an alliance of 137 with Kishan to set the platform for a mammoth total. Later on, in the slog overs, Hardik Pandya took over with a quick-fire 42 off just 17 deliveries.
For a while, Finn Allen (80 off 38 deliveries) matched the skill set of Kishan. The opener, renowned for his exploits in the 2025-26 BBL, thwacked Arshdeep Singh for four fours and a six. By then Arshdeep’s figures read none for 40 in 2 overs. He recovered superbly by taking 5 wickets. Ultimately, it was Axar Patel who dislodged the dangerous Allen, caught at long-on.
Axar then sent Glenn Phillips back to the hut to more or less seal the deal for India. In the eventual analysis, the difference between the two sides was India had enough batters striking at over 200 and making substantial contributions. Also, Axar and Arshdeep gave another exhibition of their skills in limited overs by taking 8 wickets between them. Axar looked to bowl with a flatter trajectory along a stump-to-stump line. Arshdeep also attacked the stumps and employed the left-arm angle to good effect.
The local crowd also deserves a mention. They came in droves to watch Samson but they had to go back home disappointed.
Brief scores: India 271/5 in 20 overs (Ishan Kishan 103, Suryakumar Yadav 63; Lockie Ferguson 2-41) beat New Zealand 225 in 19.4 overs (Finn Allen 80; Arshdeep Singh 5-51) by 46 runs.
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