A relentless onslaught from Tim Seifert helped New Zealand to get a consolation seven-wicket win over India in the fifth and final Twenty20 international in Hamilton on Sunday, as the visitors took the series 3-2.
Chasing 192 for victory, New Zealand started slowly and lost opener Finn Allen in the second over, before Seifert grabbed the match by the scruff of the neck.
The 31-year-old clobbered 5 sixes and 11 fours en route to a knock of 93, but was unable to complete a first T20I century after a thick inside edge on a Nitish Kumar Reddy delivery crashed into his leg stump.
New Zealand were taken over the finish line by Glenn
Phillips, whose knock of 65 not out made him the highest-scoring
batter ever in a bilateral T20I series with 341 runs, bettering
England player Phil Salt’s previous record of 331.
“(Having that) calm and the composure, it’s a nice feeling,”
Phillips said.
“When you go out there with a clear mind and just try to
play each ball on its merits and go out there and try and be a
bit more of the hunter and a little less of the prey.
“Spin was going to be the type of bowling that needed to be
taken down. Obviously we saw the Indian boys do it to us, and
they did it very effectively.”
The win also put a degree of respect on the series
scoreline, after India had won the first three matches to seal
the series.
After being put in to bat earlier on Sunday, India were
struggling at 19-2 before a 93-run partnership between Shreyas
Iyer (50) and Ishan Kishan (61) laid the foundation for a decent
total.
Fast bowler Adam Milne was the pick of New Zealand’s
bowlers, picking up four wickets, while Nathan Smith and Blair
Tickner had two apiece.
The sides will now turn their focus to one-day international
cricket, with Eden Park in Auckland set to host the first ODI of
the five-match series on Wednesday.
Source: Khaleej Times