IND vs NZ

So that will be the end of the series. So much entertainment, so much carnage has all but come to an end. India take positive momentum forward into the World Cup. New Zealand, on the other hand, were hammered left, right, and center, but they will surely take some positives out of it. The T20 World Cup kicks off on February 7, and there will be intense action coming your way as India will be taking on the USA. So don't forget to join us then and keep following Sportskeeda. This is Datrim Ray signing off on behalf of my colleague Sourabh Agrawal. Cheers!

Suryakumar Yadav (Player of The Series): "Feels good...it's been a long wait. I have always been dreaming about when this moment will come. I was following the same thing I was doing last year. I was out of form, not out of runs. Getting into the World Cup with solid form gives me the confidence. I guess the SKY was not blue for a year. I evaluated my weaknesses and took time out of the game. Had conversations with my friends to see where I was going wrong. If you win or lose, you always take takeaways. We will sit back and analyze what happened from the last game. This format is really hard on the bowler. But we need to have good plans in place to restrict the opposition." 

Ishan Kishan is the Player of the Match for his 103 runs off 44 balls, here are his words:

"(Immediate thoughts) Nothing to be honest. I think the ball was doing so much but when you are batting with Abhishek Sharma and you look at the intent and you look what you need to for the team, you just try and watch the ball and play accordingly which worked well for me today.

(Not thinking about his hundred) That is the plan now a days for each and every player in our team. Even if you are very close to your milestone, it does not matter. Six runs, if you start taking singles and in the end if we feel like we could have gone for it, it makes a huge difference. The important thing is if the ball is there you just have to go for it, not thinking about the milestones rather than winning the games.

(What does it mean to him making this comeback into the team?) I'm still not there. I did well, getting these awards but my focus is on the World Cup. It will be an extra effort from us, what is important is that we continue the same form over there."

Mitchell Santner: "Yeah I think I guess we look at the series as a whole. India is a good team. We learned a lot. Tough team to beat. Maybe push the ropes back a little bit (chuckles). (About the objectives accomplished in the series) You put bowlers under pressure. It's been a good series, but results haven't gone our way. We will try to take positives from this series and learn."

Let's hear from Arshdeep Singh who registered his maiden T20I five-wicket haul tonight: "It is a great learning for me to stay in the game. Not think about what happened in the first spell. That is what the message was from the coaching staff and I wanted to stay in the pressure. It is just for the cameras that I look calm, lately I have been going for too many runs and I'm trying to work that out with Morne (Morkel). Enjoyed some of the shots Finn (Allen) played but could have done better planning according to wicket, could have executed better as they would have come hard chasing 250, the plan was to stay in the present. (On what was said by Surya after the powerplay in the huddle) No secret, the talk was about the body language, the talk was to restrict them under 180-190 but they played well. Pretty happy with everyone perfoming well individually but the perfect team game hasn't come yet, it is also a good sign going into the World Cup."

10:30 PM local time and IST: India have won by 46 runs and conclude the series 4-1.

Ishan Kishan - 103 (44) | Arshdeep Singh 5/51
Finn Allen - 80 (38) | Lockie Ferguson - 2/41

A brilliant all-round performance from India has held New Zealand back. New Zealand started off aggressively, but the target got too big on them eventually. The visitors were rocked early on as Seifert was removed swiftly by Arshdeep inside the first over of the run chase. Nevertheless, NZ did not hold themselves back. Allen had a fine outing with the bat and scored aggressively in the powerplay to counter India’s authority.  He peppered Arshdeep for 23 runs and also launched Bumrah downtown to terrorize the Indian bowling attack. His brutal carnage with the bat helped him earn a 22-ball fifty, the fastest by any Kiwi batter against India. NZ went on to post their best powerplay score of 79/1 against India in the T20Is, bringing the game into balance.

There were some worried looks in the Indian camp as Allen went on the offensive. The Indian bowlers struggled to keep him quiet as he kept finding the odd six every now and then to keep NZ in the hunt. While Allen timed the ball beautifully, Ravindra looked quite rusty at the other end. He could not manufacture the big shots that Allen was able to pull off quite effortlessly. However, the partnership continued to evolve from strength to strength, and in the space of just 50-odd balls, both Ravindra and Allen racked up a 100-run stand.

Allen’s explosive 80 helped New Zealand lay down a robust platform. But his departure resulted in a severe deterioration in momentum for New Zealand. Axar struck at a vital time for India, sending Allen and Phillips back in quick succession. New Zealand started feeling the pressure of the asking rate post the halfway stage. Wickets kept tumbling, which didn’t help New Zealand’s cause. Arshdeep bounced back after an expensive start, picking up two crucial wickets at the start of his second spell to seriously threaten NZ’s chances of coming out on top.

NZ failed to keep their composure during the middle phase and lost all their momentum, eventually falling 47 runs short of their target. Mitchell was the last line of resistance for the Blackcaps. He mustered whatever runs NZ could before Arshdeep wind his innings up. Arshdeep had a roller coaster night, going for nearly 30 runs in his first two overs, only to make a comeback by picking up a five-wicket haul in his second spell (5/51).

19.4 Rinku Singh to Ish Sodhi, OUT, Arshdeep takes the catch and puts the ball in his pocket. Rinku has a wicket and India have a convincing 46-run win plus a 4-1 series victory! Hard length, fired in across the batter with the angle, Sodhi looks to heave it away but only ends up slicing it and it balloons up to come down into the hands of Arshdeep at point in the ring.

19.2 Rinku Singh to Ish Sodhi, SIX, Sodhi is defnitely enjoying himself more with the bat than he did with the ball! Short ball at the stumps, Sodhi does not care to go back and he simply hoicks it away over the man leaping at long-on off the front foot itself

18.4 Abhishek Sharma to Ish Sodhi, APPEAL FOR LBW, the ump says no and India take it upstairs. Shortish lenth at the stumps, goes past the pull and hits the back leg. Looked like it was sliding down leg.

Indeed, missing leg and India lose a review.