India and New Zealand lock horns for the final time in their two legged white-ball series
Men in Blue have clinched the 5-match T20I series
Kiwis responded strongly in the 4th encounter
Sanju Samson set for his maiden international appearance in Kerala
New Zealand are set to conclude their white-ball tour of India with the 5th and final T20I of the 5-match series taking place today. The final encounter will be taking place at the Greenfield International Cricket Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
This is going to be an important match for both the sides as it will be their final outing before the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 begins in India and Sri Lanka. After this, both the Indians and Kiwis will feature in their respective warm-up games.
India named the 5-match series when they completed a hat-trick of wins during the 3rd T20I in Guwahati. After losing back-to-back 3 matches, Mitchell Santner's New Zealand responded with a comprehensive win in the 4th encounter.
The Blackcaps had posted 215 on the board and then defended the score, bowling India out for just 165 runs to claim victory by 50 runs in Visakhapatnam. It was indeed a welcome win for New Zealand but for India, it was a reality check before the ultimate test in the World Cup.
The Men in Blue would not want to have a winning run ended in the World Cup and that's why, in some ways, the 4th T20I loss was necessary. Today, all eyes will be on opening batter Sanju Samson, who is going to play his first-ever international match in Kerala.
He has had a quite series so far, touching the double-figures mark only twice in 4 innings with 24 being his best score of the series. In the 4th T20I, Shivam Dube showed his quality with a 23-ball 65 at a strike rate of 282 before getting run-out by Matt Henry.
Tight Security Around The Greenfield International Stadium
Thiruvananthapuram police have implemented multi-tier security for the 5th India vs New Zealand T20I at Greenfield Stadium.
The venue is a designated Red Zone with a strict 2km-radius ban on drones, kites, and lasers. Over 1,000 personnel, CCTV monitoring, and stringent vehicle checks ensure safety for the high-stakes series finale.
India Vs New Zealand 5th T20I Preview: Live Streaming Info
The 5th and final T20I will take place at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala from 7:00PM (IST) onwards. Fans can watch the match live on the JioHotstar app/website as well as the Star Sports network on Television screens.
India Vs New Zealand 5th T20I Preview: Squads
India: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Suryakumar Yadav (C), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Harshit Rana, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, Varun Chakaravarthy
New Zealand: Devon Conway, Tim Seifert (WK), Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner (C), Zakary Foulkes, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy, James Neesham, Michael Bracewell, Lockie Ferguson, Bevon Jacobs, Kyle Jamieson
