Deivarayan Muthu
Published: Oct 31, 2026, 11:55 AM (10 mins ago)
2:04

Pathan: 'Shreyas Iyer needs to take his time'

Big Picture: The end of a long road

From a home series against Afghanistan in September, to a one-off match in Japan, followed by the Asian Games in that country, then another whirlwind home series against West Indies, and now the tour of New Zealand, respite is finally in sight for some of India's T20 players.
The fifth T20I in Hamilton on Sunday marks the end of an extremely busy month and a half for the T20I side, and several players will return home for a much-needed break before regrouping for a home series against Sri Lanka in late December. The likes of Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, Axar Patel, and Arshdeep Singh, however, go straight into the ODI series that begins in Auckland on Wednesday.
Despite their whistlestop schedule, Shreyas' team has overcome most challenges in New Zealand. They beat the jetlag and coped with the cold to win in Christchurch, and then adjusted to the unusual dimensions to succeed in Wellington. They were only tripped up by the extremely unusual dimensions in Auckland. Winning all four tosses so far also contributed to India's cause.
Having already won the series after three games, the fifth T20I is another opportunity for India to test their bench. Shivam Dube might get a game in place of Nitish Kumar Reddy, who is in the squad for the first ODI and in the India A squad for the third four-dayer against New Zealand A, in the lead-up to the two-match Test series. Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav also haven't played yet, but bringing either of them into the XI would compromise batting depth, which Axar offers.
For New Zealand, the fixture is an opportunity to marginally improve a poor head-to-head record against India this year: eight defeats in ten T20I matches in 2026.

Form guide

New Zealand: WLLLW (last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
India: LWWWL

In the spotlight: Tim Seifert and Ishan Kishan

With only 36 runs in four innings at a strike rate of 105.88 in this series, Tim Seifert has looked a shadow of the batter who provided New Zealand's batting with a point of difference during the T20 World Cup earlier this year. Along the way, he has played some desperate shots, trying to swing his way out of trouble, but it hasn't worked so far. He will hope that his Hamilton homecoming is a happy one.
Ishan Kishan has had a low-key tour so far. He managed only 1 in the series opener in Christchurch, where he sustained a groin injury. After missing the second and third games, he bagged a duck in the fourth T20I in Auckland. Like Seifert, Kishan will be looking to make a bigger impact on Sunday.

Team news: Will Dube get a game?

New Zealand are likely to stick to the same XI that toppled India in Auckland.
New Zealand (probable): 1 Finn Allen, 2 Tim Seifert (wk), 3 Daryl Mitchell, 4 Glenn Phillips, 5 Bevon Jacobs, 6 Michael Bracewell, 7 Mitchell Santner (capt), 8 Nathan Smith, 9 Adam Milne, 10 Jacob Duffy, 11 Matt Fisher
With the ODI series beginning on November 4, three days after the T20I series ends, India might consider resting Arshdeep Singh, who is in the squad for all five ODIs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar could return to the T20I XI in place of the left-arm seamer. It remains to be seen whether there's room for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in India's top order following Kishan's return from injury.
India (probable): 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Sanju Samson/Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, 3 Ishan Kishan (wk), 4 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 5 Tilak Varma, 6 Nitish Kumar Reddy/Shivam Dube, 7 Naman Dhir, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Arshdeep Singh, 10 Prince Yadav, 11 Mayank Yadav

Pitch and conditions: High-scoring Hamilton

The straight boundaries at Seddon Park aren't as small as the ones at Eden Park, but this is a high-scoring venue as well. Sunday's fixture will be the 15th T20I at Seddon Park and eight of those games have had first-innings scores of 180 or more. The temperature will be mild at the start of the game and chilly by the time it ends.

Stats and trivia: Sixy Abhishek and Allen

  • Arshdeep Singh has picked up 40 wickets in 28 innings, the highest among all bowlers in T20Is in 2026. Axar is fourth on that list with 34 strikes in 29 innings.
  • Abhishek Sharma has hit a chart-topping 129 sixes in 53 innings this year. Finn Allen is second on that list with 111 sixes in 56 innings.
  • Phillips is 15 away from toppling Mark Chapman's New Zealand record (290 runs in five innings against Pakistan in 2023) for most runs in a bilateral T20I series. Phil Salt holds the all-time record with 331 runs in five innings against West Indies in 2024.

    Quotes

    "It's our first time being up in that 250 range, I think, or at least in the time that I can remember. So who knows, maybe that's something that we can take in, I guess, to move forward with."
    Glenn Phillips on New Zealand breaking barriers
    "This is just a learning curve. I feel that next time when they come here, they would probably have a better idea on how to go about their business".
    Shreyas Iyer reflects on India's defeat at Eden Park
    IndiaNew ZealandNew Zealand vs IndiaIndia tour of New Zealand

    Deivarayan Muthu is a senior sub-editor at Cricinfo