New Zealand secured a seven-wicket victory over India in the fifth and final Twenty20 International (T20I) match on Saturday at Seddon Park in Hamilton, but the win was insufficient to prevent India from clinching the series 3-2. The home side posted 195 for three in 18 overs, propelled by an impressive 93 runs from opener Tim Seifert, who narrowly missed his first international century. Earlier, New Zealand pacer Adam Milne was instrumental with figures of 4 for 19, effectively restricting India to 191 for eight.

Seifert’s innings featured 11 boundaries and five sixes, marking a significant turnaround after accumulating just 36 runs in the first four matches. He was dismissed in the 16th over after reaching his 18th half-century, having nearly carried New Zealand to a higher total. Glenn Phillips contributed an unbeaten 65 to close out the chase, finishing the series as the leading run-scorer with 341 runs, which sets a new record for most runs in a bilateral T20 series, surpassing England’s Phil Salt who scored 331 runs in 2023.

In response, India’s innings was bolstered by quickfire half-centuries from Ishan Kishan (61) and captain Shreyas Iyer (50), who together compiled 93 runs for the third wicket after both openers fell cheaply to Milne. Despite their contributions, the Indian batsmen struggled against New Zealand’s pace attack on a challenging pitch where the ball was seaming.

New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner reflected on the series, expressing disappointment over the team’s inability to capitalize on tight opportunities earlier in the contest. “Those small moments in the first couple of games let us down,” Santner said, pointing to crucial fielding lapses and dropped catches that could have altered the series outcome. “We probably could have won those games, or should have, and then the series would have looked a lot different.” Nevertheless, Santner acknowledged the positive aspects of his team’s performance once they found form later in the series.

India, meanwhile, recognized the difficulties presented by the conditions. “It wasn’t an easy wicket to play on, especially when the ball was seaming,” said an Indian player after the match. “We could have been better with our bowling and fielding — we were a bit sloppy.”

Following the conclusion of the T20 series, both teams will shift focus to a five-match One Day International (ODI) series, which begins on Wednesday in Auckland, followed by two Test matches to conclude the tour.