Tim Seifert's 93 Powers New Zealand To Consolation Win Over India

Tim Seifert's big-hitting instincts returned in style as New Zealand hammered a low-intensity India by seven wickets in the fifth and final T20I on Sunday. The opener (93 off 50 balls; 11 fours, five sixes) shared an 86-run partnership with the in-form Glenn Phillips (65 not out off 38 balls) for the third wicket as the hosts chased down India's 191/8 with ease, finishing on 195/3. Despite the defeat, India clinched the five-match series 3-2.New Zealand's chase began shakily, with Finn Allen falling early to Arshdeep Singh, but Seifert and Daryl Mitchell (29 off 16 balls) added 73 runs for the second wicket to steady the innings.

Mitchell did most of the early scoring, smashing Prince Yadav for two successive sixes before dispatching Varun Chakravarthy, who was playing his first match of the series, for another maximum.

However, Mitchell eventually fell to Chakravarthy, with Abhishek Sharma taking a fine catch near long-on.

Seifert, who had endured a string of low scores earlier in the series, recovered from a slow start of 14 off 15 balls before accelerating brilliantly.

Once he found his timing, the 31-year-old looked unstoppable and brought up his half-century in 34 deliveries. India paid heavily for dropping him on 13, when Naman Dhir spilled a straightforward chance near the boundary off Arshdeep.

Veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar came under severe pressure, conceding boundaries of 4, 6, 6, 4 in one spell, with the first six measuring 108 metres, the longest hit of the match.

The 13th over from Chakravarthy yielded 18 runs as Seifert and Phillips launched a concerted assault on the spinner.

The Indian bowlers struggled to find consistent lengths on a pitch that offered some bounce, allowing the New Zealand batters to dictate terms.

Just as Seifert looked set for a maiden T20I century, an unfortunate inside edge off Nitish Kumar Reddy brought an end to his innings.

Phillips, who reached his fifty in just 29 balls, ensured Seifert's efforts were not wasted and guided New Zealand home comfortably.

Earlier, captain Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan rediscovered their touch with brisk half-centuries, but an inspired spell from Adam Milne ensured India were restricted to a below-par total.

India's innings unfolded in three contrasting phases: an early collapse, a period of aggressive middle-over scoring, and a subdued finish.

Iyer (50 off 23 balls) and Kishan (61 off 32 balls) added 107 runs in just over seven overs to drive India's recovery.

Although the surface offered some assistance to the fast bowlers, both batters attacked confidently.

Kishan started cautiously, scoring 13 from his first 11 balls, but quickly found his rhythm. A boundary through long-off off Nathan Smith and a six over point off Blair Tickner kickstarted his innings.

At the other end, Iyer looked fluent from the outset. The Mumbai batter opened his account with a flicked six off Smith and soon unleashed a series of attacking strokes.

Off-spinner Michael Bracewell bore the brunt of Iyer's aggression, conceding 6, 4, 6 in succession, with the final maximum travelling 100 metres.

Kishan reached his fifty off just 28 balls with a six off Bracewell, while Iyer, who survived a dropped catch on 40, completed his half-century in 22 deliveries with a boundary off Smith.

However, New Zealand clawed their way back into the contest at that stage.

Kishan fell in the 11th over, caught at midwicket by Smith off Tickner, before Iyer departed in the next over when his attempted pull off Smith was caught by wicketkeeper Seifert.

From then on, India struggled to maintain momentum as Tilak Varma, Dhir and Nitish Kumar Reddy failed to accelerate consistently.

India managed only 57 runs between overs 14 and 20, with Milne (4/19) striking regularly to halt any late charge.

The sluggish finish mirrored India's troubled start, which saw openers Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson dismissed with just 19 runs on the board.

The result is also likely to raise fresh questions about Samson's consistency ahead of India's next T20I assignment in December.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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