New Zealand vs India — Match Centre

Drinks. New Zealand have paced their innings so well. Bhuvi and Arshdeep made the ball talk. Allen could not connect as the ball was nipping around

Axar Patel to Glenn Phillips, 1 run, flatter delivery on the leg stump, GP clips it through square leg

Axar Patel to Daryl Mitchell, 1 run, very full delivery, Mitchell knocks it to long-on

Axar Patel to Glenn Phillips, leg byes, 1 run, flatter delivery down the leg-side, GP misses the glance, ball rolls to short fine leg

Axar Patel to Daryl Mitchell, 1 run, advances and knocks this flighted delivery to long-off

Axar Patel to Glenn Phillips, 1 run, slider looking for the bat-pad gap, GP manages to push it to long-on off the inner half of the bat. "Well bowled Patel," chirps Sanju

Axar Patel to Daryl Mitchell, 1 run, full delivery outside off stump, defended towards point off the front foot

Axar Patel [1.0-0-14-0] is back into the attack

Nitish Reddy to Glenn Phillips, no run

FOUR! Nitish Reddy to Glenn Phillips, FOUR, and the moment he offered short of length with width, he spoils his own over. Smart of GP to understand that third man is up, point is up, so he just opened the bat face and guided it between the two infielders

Nitish Reddy to Glenn Phillips, no run, another fullie, GP mistimes to mid-wicket

OUT! Nitish Reddy to Finn Allen, Caught by Naman Dhir!! At the Pitch Report, Tim Southee said as a bowler you got to be brave here to get hit down the ground because the longest hit is down the ground - 84m. He's only looked to bowl full since he's come on and he's struck with the third attempt. Another ball quite full, Allen tries for the maximum, but it was too full to get under and Naman judged that perfectly because he had to run in a bit and then time the jump to perfection. Good, brave, smart bowling from Nitish Kumar Reddy and Finn Allen departs after doing a great job.

Nitish Reddy to Finn Allen, Caught!!

Nitish Reddy to Daryl Mitchell, 1 run, another very full ball, Mitchell couldn't get under it properly so he hits it straight to long-on

Nitish Reddy to Finn Allen, 1 run, starts with a very full delivery outside off stump, Allen drives to long-off

Prince Yadav to Finn Allen, 1 run, great yorker, Allen digs it out to mid-on. Prince quickly dives to the right and gets a hand on it

Prince Yadav to Daryl Mitchell, 1 run

SIX! Prince Yadav to Daryl Mitchell, , he's ready on the back foot even though it rushed him a bit. Short delivery, Mitchell had to slightly fetch it from outside off stump and he found the middle of the bat to clear backward square leg.

Prince Yadav to Finn Allen, 1 run, low full toss, Allen flicks to deep mid-wicket

Prince Yadav to Daryl Mitchell, 1 run, knocked around for a run

SIX! Prince Yadav to Daryl Mitchell, , the second time he's played the scoop and he's got a six this time. That's 10 runs in 2 balls off those shots. Length delivery on the stumps, Mitchell moves across and connects well to send it over fine leg

Axar Patel to Finn Allen, , okay, if you are going to hide it wide of off I can reach for it and slap it hard over cover says Finn Allen. Sends a flat six over cover. That must have stunned Axar a bit because it was some shot

Axar Patel to Finn Allen, no run, fired wide of off, Allen lets it go thinking it will be called a wide but it was inside the line

Axar Patel to Finn Allen, no run, punched off the back foot to cover

SIX! Axar Patel to Finn Allen, , Axar loves to cramp the RHBs with a flat trajectory on the pull. Finn Allen probably knows that too so he had

Axar Patel to Daryl Mitchell, 1 run, length delivery on the stumps, Mitchell clips it through mid-wicket. They think of two but Axar quickly moved to the right

Axar Patel to Finn Allen, 1 run, flatter delivery, Allen slaps it off the back foot to long-off

Brilliant comeback from New Zealand. They scored only 6 runs in the first two overs, but managed to get 52 runs in the next four!

Arshdeep Singh to Daryl Mitchell, leg byes, , moves a long way across to this full delivery, Arshdeep Singh cleverly fires a full ball on the pads. Mitchell misses the flick, ball hits the pad and beats Sanju's dive to the left

Arshdeep Singh to Daryl Mitchell, , just misses the yorker and Mitchell reaches out to belt it over the mid-off fielder. Slows down after pitching but it still rolls to the fence. Mitchell was standing well outside the crease as Arshdeep was troubling him with wide yorkers

Arshdeep Singh to Daryl Mitchell, no run, great yorker again! Wide of off and Mitchell can't get any bat on it again. He checks if that's a wide but the ump says that's inside the line

Arshdeep Singh to Daryl Mitchell, no run, 131ks very full and close to yorker length, Mitchell jams it adjacent to the pitch on the off-side

Arshdeep Singh to Daryl Mitchell, no run, goes fuller and angles it across, Mitchell clears his front leg and goes hard on the drive, drags it off the inner half to midwicket

Prince Yadav to Finn Allen, no run, ohh the bowler collects the drive and has a shy at the stumps.

Prince Yadav to Daryl Mitchell, 1 run, short delivery on the leg stump, Mitchell rises tall and pulls it to deep backward square leg. Naman cuts it off in the deep

Prince Yadav to Finn Allen, 1 run, the yorker is the response to that six, Allen mistimes the drive to mid-on

SIX! Prince Yadav to Finn Allen, , that's the first properly timed shot of the game and the distance it travelled easily tells you the story. Length delivery from Prince Yadav, Allen got inside the line and played the pick-up flick square on the on-side and he found a good part of the bat to send it many rows over backward square leg

Prince Yadav to Finn Allen, no run, drags his length back and bowls length, Allen knocks it to mid-wicket. Allen calls a loud no

Prince Yadav to Finn Allen, 2 runs, first full ball of the game and it comes from Prince. Allen will be kicking himself for missing out as long leg was quite square. He wanted to pick it up over the ropes but mistimed

Arshdeep Singh to Daryl Mitchell, , innovative and effective!

Arshdeep Singh to Daryl Mitchell, no run, tries the same shot again and mistimes again. Another back of a length ball around off stump, Mitchell mishits the slog-pull to mid-wicket

FOUR! Arshdeep Singh to Daryl Mitchell, , ! Short of a length delivery moving across the RHB, Mitchell loses shape on the slog, gets a thick edge and third man was up. Easy for these edges to clear the infield with the field up

Arshdeep Singh to Finn Allen, 1 run, short of length delivery on the leg stump, knocked to square leg for a sharp single

Arshdeep Singh to Finn Allen, no run

Arshdeep Singh to Daryl Mitchell, 1 run, drops it short and Mitchell goes back and across for the pull, ball hits the splice of the bat and goes to mid-wicket. Nitish with a good sliding save

Arshdeep Singh to Daryl Mitchell, , and again! The previous wide was back of a length, this was good length. That's the only difference between the two balls. And by the way, he's not attempted a single inswinger so far

Arshdeep Singh to Daryl Mitchell, , fires this short of length delivery down the leg-side, Mitchell misses the glance. Sound came when the ball passed the bat but no appeal from anyone

Bhuvneshwar Kumar to Finn Allen, , he's met that pretty well! Short of a length this time and sitting up, Allen camps back and pulls over mid-wicket. They check if it cleared the rope. That's because it went off the bottom of the bat and the replays confirm the ball just got over the ropes

Bhuvneshwar Kumar to Finn Allen, no run, ohhhh! ? He's torturing them with that that scrambled seam ball. Length delivery outside off stump, Allen thinks he can have a loft down the ground and on the rise but the ball cut back in sharply to almost take out the off stump

Bhuvneshwar Kumar to Daryl Mitchell, 1 run, short of length delivery on the stumps, Mitchell clips it to deep square leg. Loud call of no between the batters to ensure there's no more miscommunication

\n164 - Tim Southee (SR: 16.7)\n163 - Mustafizur Rahman (SR: 17.1)\n149* - Arshdeep Singh (SR: 14)\n148 - Rizwan Butt (SR: 14.1)\n142 - Mark Adair (SR: 15.1)

Bhuvneshwar Kumar to Daryl Mitchell, 2 runs, this is high, is this long enough? No, the ball plugs at long-on after clearing the infield. Wobble seam short of length delivery moving away to force the mishit as Mitchell tried to belt it down the ground. Didn't catch the middle of the bat

Tilak is walking off the field. His knee got stuck when he slid and stopped the ball. Does not look serious. Kushagra is the substitute.

Arshdeep Singh to Daryl Mitchell, 1 run, meanwhile Mitchell straightaway plays with an angled bat to play with the swing, taps this short of length delivery towards short cover-point

OUT! Arshdeep Singh to Tim Seifert, Caught by Axar Patel!! It's almost a carbon copy of the dismissal in the previous game. Arshdeep Singh moving it across and away from Seifert. The batter goes for a mighty slog and gets a fat top edge that goes squarer this time towards point. Axar settles under it, shoos his teammates away for focus and neatly takes the catch. Not a great idea to play across the line to ball moving across him from Seifert.

Arshdeep Singh to Tim Seifert, Caught!!

Arshdeep Singh to Tim Seifert, no run, that's a . To have the confidence straightaway to rock up an outswinger with great control to the RHB from over the wicket is some skill. Back of a length delivery moving away outside off stump, woah, how do I play those kind of poke from Seifert

Bhuvneshwar Kumar to Finn Allen, no run, ! Again the scrambled seam ball, nipped away from short of length this time. Allen plays inside the line as he pokes at the ball in his defence. Lucky he didn't edge it

Bhuvneshwar Kumar to Tim Seifert, 1 run, . Seifert backs away to unsettle the line but Bhuvi bowls the wobble seam short of length delivery nicely outside off stump, Seifert looks to slash hard, under edge rolls to the on-side

Bhuvneshwar Kumar to Tim Seifert, no run, now . Bhuvi definitely getting to nip into the RHBs, Seifert uncomfortable on the flick this time around. Again slightly leg-sidish so not good enough for LBW

Bhuvneshwar Kumar to Finn Allen, leg byes, 1 run, as Allen is surprised by the zip and nip back into him from short of length, bottom hand came off the handle as he tried to flick. Hit quite high on the thigh pad though

[On New Zealand's belief and approach to cricket] We genuinely believed we could win that World Cup final. And I think that's awesome to see. Like I think we deserve that. You can feel it in the group, you know. Bowlers are charging in, batters are taking the game on. And that's how we want to play our cricket. And I think that's going to hold us in really good stead moving forward.

[On his memories of the World Cup semi-final] Almost blacked out during that. What I remember from it was kind of the build up to the game and obviously it's a World Cup semi-final. You're pretty locked in. So that probably the best bowling attack in the tournament as well. So I guess me and Sei, we really wanted to stamp our mark on that game and get us off to a good start. [On playing in a World Cup final in front of a huge crowd] Probably didn't even give myself the chance to like celebrate that (semifinal knock) because the next game was the most important game you'll probably ever play in a World Cup final. So it's not something you can ever practice playing in front of 130,000 away fans. You know, it's challenging and you're on the biggest stage in the world. It's quite literally doesn't get any bigger than that. . But just being able to look around and go, wow, it's pretty cool. Like we're in a World Cup final. Like just take it all in and enjoy those moments because they're the things you'll remember the most in your career.

[On his early passion for cricket and pursuing it as a career] The love of the game was always there for me, sit on couch and watch every ball of a Test match, didn't really fancy putting the shirt and tie on and getting for an office. So it was kind of always my passion to make it a career and it probably didn't start to flash in the early years. [On the importance of confidence and his approach to the game] Good question I guess You don't feel great every time. So I think you do have to have that element of kind of self-confidence and a bit of body language to kind of get you going sometimes. And cricket's one of those games where you have more unsuccessful days than successful. You have to be able to pull yourself out of that hole and again to me that comes back to if I'm happy off the field then on the field I'm enjoying it. I'm looking forward to it a lot more and enjoying batting, having fun with it. And I guess just going whatever happens, happens and kind of work to my favour and it's how I want to continue playing my cricket.

(Playing XI): Tim Seifert(w), Finn Allen, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Bevon Jacobs, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner(c), Kyle Jamieson, Adam Milne, Jacob Duffy, Matthew Fisher

(Playing XI): Sanju Samson(w), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Shreyas Iyer(c), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav

Looks like another good wicket, some pace and bounce. There is no wind which is nice. The dimensions are slightly different to where we have come from. We know India are a great side, you can't let your foot off the gas. . and are out. , KB5$ are in

: We are going to bowl. Certain aspects we definitely need to keep improving. The dimensions and conditions are different, so the quicker we adapt the better for us.

Okay then! Mitch Santner and Shreyas Iyer are ready for the toss...

becomes the . Daryl Mitchell hands him a special cap to mark the occasion.

\n\nB1$: "The talking point has been what's above us and below. . Twelve degrees is the maximum. It'll get a little cooler throughout the evening, and only 12 kilometres an hour wind, which is good for the players.\n\nAs for the ground itself, the . It means the longer boundaries are where, as bowlers, I'm just suspecting, is where you want the batsmen to try and hit, because . Something the bowlers can use to their advantage, and we may just see a few more catches out on the boundary in that zone.\n\nOkay, somebody who has had a lot of success, and also bowled a lot of deliveries here at this venue, is Tim Southee. Now, Tim, I want you to tell me what you would look to do on this particular pitch, considering all the success you've had here and how you look to bowl."\n\nB5$: "Yeah, I think firstly, you touched on the ground dimensions. . We saw at Hagley Oval, the boundaries slightly bigger square of the wicket so the shift for both bowling units with the ground dimensions, and trying to, I guess, be brave and get the ball full, and then at the back end of the innings as well, using a lot more yorkers and trying to challenge them to hit down the ground."\n\nB7$: "Well, there we go then. It's a challenge for New Zealand. They have had their struggles in the death overs, in particular, get batsmen to hit straight, and they may have a bit more success."

[What do you think has been the key to the success for Team India?] It's simple, I think staying in present and reading the situation well because you know you have played a lot of cricket in India but not in New Zealand. It's just when you come to New Zealand, you have to read the situation well and according to the, you have certain plans and certain strengths to your gameplay and you have to apply to that. That's it. [On the middle and lower order's contributions and healthy competition within the team] I mean, of course there will be competition. It will be healthy competition, I would say, because if you're having a healthy competition then if Naman is scoring, if Tilak is scoring, I will be eager to waiting for my turn to score as well. When they don't score, when I'm scoring, they'll be eager to wait for their chance to score. So that's how a team sport grows and that's how I would say a healthy competition looks.

India, meanwhile, have their own bowling concerns to address. In the first T20I, every bowler conceded at more than 10 rpo, the first time India had suffered that fate in a T20I. Bhuvneshwar Kumar's return hasn't gone to plan either, with figures of 0/49 and 1/50 in the first two games. India also missed a trick by not playing an extra spinner at Hagley Oval, where the large boundaries offered an opportunity to pick wickets. Will they make that adjustment today by bringing in Varun Chakaravarthy or Kuldeep Yadav at the expense of a pacer? The numbers suggest spinners have enjoyed greater success than pace bowlers in recent games at the Hnry Stadium, which could influence their thinking. With the bat, India have relied heavily on their openers and lower order, while Ishan Kishan remains unavailable for this game. That should give Vaibhav Sooryavanshi another opportunity. Will it be at No. 3 again? Can New Zealand find a way to break India's winning run, or will the visitors wrap up the series with another close finish? Toss and teams coming up. Stay tuned..

New Zealand's biggest concern has been their bowling discipline, which has been uncharacteristically poor. They conceded . Those are costly numbers, particularly in games decided by such fine margins. The pacers have struggled to keep things tight, while Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell have been the bright spots, doing a good job of containing the scoring and picking up wickets through the middle overs. Matt Henry has been ruled out of the T20I series, forcing a change to the pace attack, with Adam Milne potentially returning or Kyle Jamieson getting an opportunity. With the bat, Glenn Phillips and Bevon Jacobs have been the consistent performers across the first two games, but New Zealand need greater contributions from the rest of the lineup. They'll have to be sharper with both bat and ball if they're to get the better of this Indian side.

: The series scoreline reads 2-0 in India's favour, but it could so easily have been the other way around. Both games have gone down to the wire, finishing in 19.4 and 19.5 overs respectively, with India holding their nerve in the crunch moments. Can they seal the series today? Hello and welcome to the third T20I! We've moved on from Christchurch to the Hnry Stadium in Wellington, where New Zealand will hope a change of venue brings a change in fortunes. With their backs against the wall, the hosts need to turn things around to keep the series alive.

\n\nA hop across the Cook Strait brings India to Wellington with one hand on the T20I series. A win in the third T20I would seal it, the latest chapter in a rivalry that has swung sharply their way. New Zealand have often been India’s scourge on the biggest stages, but this decade the ledger reads differently: including the World Cup final in March, India have won 18 of their 21 T20Is against them.\n\nThe tour has begun more promisingly than the jet lag and the relentless schedule might have suggested. Shreyas Iyer has won the tosses, and the 8 PM starts and evening dew have helped even out the contest. Wellington, though, asks different questions. The square boundaries are less imposing than Hagley Oval’s, but the variables here are harder to read.\n\nThe biggest of them could be the wind. India were caught out by it in Ireland during Iyer’s first stint as captain, when the breeze and the bounce proved difficult to negotiate. They will hope those lessons stand them in good stead this time.\n\nThey have recovered well since that troubled start in the UK, even if their dominant best is still to come as evidenced by the drawn series at home against West Indies. With the early acclimatisation hurdles hopefully cleared, bowling coach Morne Morkel believes the performance graph must now climb. The bowling and the batting against spin are the places to start. Tighten those, and a significant series win could be theirs as early as Tuesday.\n\nB1$New Zealand vs India, 3rd T20I, October 27, 8:00 PM Local, 12:30 PM IST\n\nB2$Hnry Stadium, Wellington\n\nB3$Swirling winds of up to 55 kph swept through Wellington on match eve. They are expected to ease slightly by match day, but the wind will still be a factor. Some rain is forecast on Tuesday, though it should clear in time for the 8 PM start. South Africa comfortably defended a score of 164 in the last T20I here although that was at the end of last season.\n\nB4$\n\nB5$\n\nThe hosts are unlikely to tinker with a balance that worked fine in the last game. With Ishan Kishan out for at least one more game, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi should get another go at No.3\n\nB6$Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir, Nitish Reddy, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav\n\nB7$\n\nThe hosts have rested Matt Henry for the remainder of the series, and Lockie Ferguson will miss this match. With a deep pool of fast bowlers in the squad, though, the drop-off is unlikely to be significant, especially on a fresh wicket.\n\nB8$Finn Allen, Tim Seifert (wk), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Bevon Jacobs, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner, Nathan Smith, Kyle Jamieson, Adam Milne, Jacob Duffy\n\nB9$\n\n- New Zealand have won only two of the seven T20Is at Hnry Stadium since 2020\n\n- Only England have a better middle-overs scoring rate (9.53) than India (9.50) in 2026\n\n- New Zealand's spinners have taken 8 wickets at 8.25 ER this series, compared to their pacers taking just 4 wickets at 11.78\n\nB10$\n\n"As management staff, we can be slightly more lenient in that first couple of games with a travelling schedule, jet lag. One or two training sessions with the guys, we're going to be slightly off. But from now on, we sort of said there's no more excuses. We want our standards to go up. Hopefully from here, we can do those one percenters slightly better" - \n\n"I felt we've played pretty well in probably 80% of each game. We just haven't been able to put the finishing touches on it each time, which is disappointing." -

Squad: Tim Seifert(w), Finn Allen, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Bevon Jacobs, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner(c), Nathan Smith, Jacob Duffy, Kyle Jamieson, Adam Milne, Blair Tickner, Matthew Fisher, Devon Conway

Squad: Sanju Samson(w), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Shreyas Iyer(c), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kumar Kushagra, Mayank Yadav