Milne's four-for, Seifert's 93 headline New Zealand's win
Milne's four-wicket haul helped restrict India to 191 before Seifert's 93 and Phillips' unbeaten 65 powered New Zealand to a seven-wicket win in the final T20I
Adam Milne's four-wicket haul and half-centuries from Tim Seifert and Glenn Phillips gave New Zealand a seven-wicket victory over India in the final T20I in Hamilton as the series ended 3-2 in favour of the visitors. Milne's 4 for 19, along with two wickets each for Nathan Smith and Blair Tickner, helped New Zealand restrict India to 191 for 8 despite fifties from Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer. Seifert's 93 off 50, which included 11 fours and 5 sixes, powered the chase along with Phillips - who scored an unbeaten 65 off 38 (8 fours and 3 sixes) - as New Zealand raced to the target in 18 overs.
New Zealand lost an early wicket in the chase as Finn Allen fell to Arshdeep Singh attempting a pull. The hosts had a relatively quiet start even as Seifert got a lucky break, put down by Naman Dhir off Arshdeep. He capitalised by striking the first six of the innings soon after, while Daryl Mitchell hit two successive sixes off Prince Yadav to get New Zealand moving. Back in the eleven in place of Mayank Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar conceded only 11 in his first two overs but went for 20 in his third as Seifert struck two sixes and two fours, helping New Zealand to 59 for 1 at the end of the Powerplay.
Varun Chakaravarthy, who replaced Axar Patel, was hit for a six by Mitchell and the batter also cleared the fence off Prince once again for his fourth maximum. His innings, however, came to an end as he was caught at long off in Varun's second over. Seifert then brought up a 34-ball fifty with a six off Nitish Reddy as he took New Zealand to 96 for 2 after 10 overs. Abhishek Sharma was brought in for the 11th over but went for 13 runs, including a six for Seifert, who also struck two fours off Arshdeep in the next over.
Phillips got three fours off Varun in an 18-run over, followed by two fours for Seifert off Prince as New Zealand reached 150 in the 14th over. Varun's expensive outing continued as Phillips launched him for two sixes, with a dropped catch sandwiched between those, as the equation came down to 29 off 30. Seifert missed out on a three-figure score as he inside-edged one onto the stumps in Reddy's over. Phillips then reached his fourth fifty-plus score of the series with a six and a four off Arshdeep, getting to the mark in 29 balls. With seven needed in the last three overs, New Zealand got to the target comfortably as Phillips struck two fours off Bhuvneshwar in the 18th over to get the job done.
Earlier, after being asked to bat, India suffered early setbacks as the New Zealand pacers used the swing on offer to good effect. Abhishek Sharma was caught at mid on trying to loft Milne, who also accounted for the wicket of Sanju Samson as he got a leading edge trying to flick. Kishan, meanwhile, struck some much-needed boundaries, getting a six and a four off Jacob Duffy, while Smith went for 16 in his first over, including a maximum for Iyer. A six and a four for Kishan off Tickner helped India end the Powerplay with 50 for 2.
Kishan got a reprieve as an excellent attempt from Allen at long-on was given not out by the third umpire, who reckoned the fielder didn't release the ball in time when his foot made contact with the boundary. Kishan went on to bring up a 28-ball fifty with a maximum off Mitchell Santner in the ninth over, and also crossed 2000 T20I runs. Michael Bracewell went for 27 in the 10th over, with Iyer striking two sixes and a four and Kishan getting a six and a four, with the Indian captain also being dropped in the same over.
India were well-placed to post 200-plus, having reached 111 for 2 at the halfway stage. But New Zealand came back well in the second half, pinning India down with regular wickets. Tickner ended Kishan's outing by having him caught at deep midwicket to end a 93-run stand, while Iyer fell to Smith soon after bringing up a 22-ball fifty. Tilak Varma was reprieved due to a no-ball from Smith but couldn't capitalise as he handed a catch back to the bowler. Dhir (33 off 23) was dropped by Milne and put on a brisk 46-run stand with Reddy (22 off 17), with both dealing in regular boundaries. But quick wickets towards the end meant India fell short of the 200 mark.
Brief scores: India 191/8 in 20 overs (Ishan Kishan 61 off 32, Shreyas Iyer 50 off 23; Adam Milne 4-19, Nathan Smith 2-28) lost to New Zealand 195/3 in 18 overs (Tim Seifert 93 off 50, Glenn Phillips 65* off 38; Nitish Kumar Reddy 1-19) by 7 wickets.
