IND vs NZ

10:58 PM local time and IST: After losing three games in a row, New Zealand come back with a superlative performance in all three departments to take this match in Vizag! Now, both these teams head to Thiruvananthapuram for the final game of the series, on Saturday, 31 January. The first ball is to be bowled at 7:00 PM local time. The important of that contest is that both sides will play their last T20I before the T20 World Cup! So, it's the final chance for the respective teams to check themselves out. Will India come back with another win, or will New Zealand carry forward this winning momentum and narrow the margin of defeat in the series? We'll find out with you! For now, this is Darpan and Bidipto taking your leave. Keep following Sportskeeda! 

Tim Seifert (Player of the Match, 62 runs off only 36 balls and 1 catch): "(On the two top-edges to begin his innings with boundaries) Sometimes, you get a bit lucky early on, and that is the nature of the game, but, a couple of top edges to get me going helped today! (On getting the better of Jasprit Bumrah today) Yes, he got me the other night with a beauty, I tip my hat off to him, but, I managed to score off him today. (On the way forward for the batting unit and him) The intent with the bat is key, and transferring the pressure back on the bowlers, is highly important. Being able to adapt, going forward, is the mantra. The pitches in the World Cup are expected to be high-scoring, and so, it only makes sense to bat the way we did up front." 

Mitchell Santner (New Zealand captain): "Yeah it was nice! The way we started in the power play, was what India has been doing to us! But, that was a strong start. After the last game, we went back to the drawing board and told ourselves that 150 by no means is on here. 200 is bare minimum against them. There is no better prep than playing India in India, before the World Cup. We have a couple of guys coming back for the next game too. The pitch got a bit tacky and allowed for the ball to grip and turn, that helped immensely!" 

Suryakumar Yadav (India captain): "I feel we purposely played 6 batters today. We wanted to play 5 bowlers today and challenge ourselves. We wanted to see what happens if you're chasing 180 or 200 and if we are 2-3 wickets down early. We also wanted to play the guys who are going to the World Cup. We might get the chance in the next game. We might chase again. The way Dube batted was a positive. One more batter with him would have made a difference."

Matt Henry reflects on the performance. He says, "Coming here against a very good side like India and to bounce back like that was really good. I suppose we continued to do the good stuff that we did in this series. It's easy after a couple of losses like that to go searching but I think that shows a lot about the character of this group, to keep competing and that's what we did exactly tonight. The confidence is right up there. We are still taking wickets through the powerplay in the last couple of games but there were a couple of serious knocks which challenged us. It was good to come here tonight and have that complete performance. We kept growing and did a really good job.

(On that first ball to Abhishek Sharma) Obviously that's a huge wicket for us. He has showed us not only in this series but over the last couple of years how dangerous a player he is. So, obviously it was a seriously impressive catch from Devon. I think the way we fielded tonight was outstanding. It makes such a massive difference when you field like that. Assessing conditions is the key here. That is what we were able to do tonight."

10:30 PM local time and IST: New Zealand win by 50 runs with 8 balls to spare! India lead the 5-match T20 series, 3-1, with one game left.

Tim Seifert 62 (36) | Mitchell Santner - 3/26 (4)
Shivam Dube 65 (23) | Arshdeep Singh - 2/33 (4)

India were a batter short today. India tried a few things too many today. India still went hard with the bat and took lots of risks, as usual, but this time, that did not come off. In the end, India had to taste a medicine far from sweet! 

On the flip side, New Zealand were superb in all three departments. Far too good, in all three departments! Even, Mitchell Santner's captaincy tonight was way, way better than what we've seen thus fart in the series! 

With the T20 World Cup in sight, both teams will tick off quite a few positives, but the question on whether certain changes were needed for India, will beckon! However, on the other side of the ledges, the Blackcaps outshone their performance thus far in the series, and showed what they can be like, even when the conditions are not in their favour! 

Dew did play its part, but so that the quality in spin-bowling from Santner and Ish Sodhi! The control both of them displayed, the amount of turn both got, and the kind of impact that there was, was simply tremendous! 

But it all started with the first-ball wicket of Abhishek Sharma, who ran down the wicket again and found Devon Conway at deep third, off the bowling of Matt Henry. But that was more Conway's wicket than Henry's! 

And then of course, that return catch, low down, by Jacob Duffy to dismiss Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav! If your big fast bowler can do that, what about the likes of Glenn Phillips and Santner? 

Yes, Phillips was sensational in the field again, and Santner took another outstanding catch! Routine stuff for them, you would say! Such is their fielding prowess. 

However, there were two shining lights for India in the 2nd innings. One wasn't as bright as the other one, but Rinku Singh coming out to bat at no. 4 and scoring a brisk 30-ball 39, with signs of maturity, was something for the team management to note. 

The brightest performance of the innings from the home side's point of view, was Shivam Dube's 65, at a strike rate of 282.61! Yes, he smashed the bowlers out of sight! The spinners were taken to the cleaners and the pacers too were found slightly wanting, even in terms of the length to bowl! 

But the way Dube got out, would break many a batter's heart! It did the same to him. Backing up too far, he was unable to make it back in his crease when Harshit Rana bunted it to Matt Henry, and the latter's fingers got brushed by the ball, to roll on to the stumps at the non-striker's end! But, the innings ended, with Dube registering his name in the history books as India's 3rd fastest half-century scorer in T20Is! 

Shivam Dube is looking, fresher, fitter and hungrier, and this innings is proof of that! 

But that was just about it for the hosts. The tail didn't quite wag after that decent partnership between Dube and Harshit, and, in the end, India couldn't last even the full 20 overs, playing their high-risk game. 

18.4 Jacob Duffy to Kuldeep Yadav, CAUGHT BEHIND! New Zealand win by 50 runs. That will do their confidence a world of good. Kuldeep shuffled to the leg side and Duffy followed him up with a 122 kph short ball. The lefty tried to ward it off and ended up deploying a clumsy-looking pull shot. The ball took some part of his glove and went on to settle into the big mitts of Tim Seifert. 

Jacob Duffy [3.0-0-30-1] comes back into the attack.

Two wrist spinners are out in the middle with bat in hand. What can they come up with? Do we see a few boundaries from them? That's something to take note of.

17.6 Mitchell Santner to Kuldeep Yadav, lobbed on the fuller side of good length, outside off. Kuldeep reverse sweeps it straight to Sodhi at short third. No run.