IND VS NZ 5TH T20 Ishan Kishan played a magnificent century innings, India defeated New Zealand by 46 runs to win the series 4-1.

 India defeated New Zealand by 46 runs in the fifth T20 match to clinch the five-match T20 series 4-1. In the final match played in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday, India, after winning the toss and electing to bat first, scored 271 runs for the loss of five wickets in 20 overs. In reply, New Zealand could only manage 225 runs before being all out.

Allen gives New Zealand a flying start

Chasing a massive target of 271 runs, the New Zealand team started aggressively, but due to the fall of wickets at regular intervals, they could never fully gain control of the match. Opener Finn Allen played a brilliant innings, putting pressure on the Indian bowlers in the initial overs. Allen completed his half-century in just 22 balls and played a blistering innings of 80 runs off 38 balls, which included several attractive fours and sixes. He particularly targeted Arshdeep Singh and scored heavily off him in the first two overs.

Allen received good support from Rachin Ravindra (30 runs), and the two shared a 100-run partnership for the second wicket, which briefly kept New Zealand's hopes alive. However, as soon as Allen was dismissed, the Kiwi innings completely lost its momentum. Indian spinners Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy then tightened the screws, restricting the run rate and taking wickets at regular intervals. The middle-order batsmen couldn't cope with the pressure of chasing a big target, and wickets continued to fall at regular intervals.

A century partnership between Ishan and Suryakumar

Ishan Kishan, who came to the crease next, completely changed the course of the match with captain Suryakumar Yadav. The duo forged an explosive 137-run partnership for the third wicket, which broke the back of the New Zealand bowling attack. Kishan adopted an aggressive approach from the start and, with his quick hands and excellent footwork, attacked the Kiwi bowlers all around the ground. He completed his half-century in just 28 balls and then, scoring runs rapidly, hit his maiden T20 International century.

In the match played at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, Ishan Kishan scored 103 runs off just 43 balls, including 10 sixes and 6 fours. This was Ishan's first century in his T20 International career. Ishan was caught out by Glenn Phillips off the bowling of Jacob Duffy. Kishan completed his century in just 42 balls, which was the fifth fastest century by an Indian batsman in T20 Internationals. It was also the fastest T20 International century scored against New Zealand by any batsman. 

Ishan Kishan took Ish Sodhi to the cleaners during his century-making innings. Sodhi conceded a total of 29 runs in the 12th over, with 28 of those runs scored by Ishan. Sodhi started the over with a wide ball. Ishan then hit three consecutive fours. He followed that up with a six, clearly showing his aggressive intent. On the fifth ball of the over, Ishan hit another four, and then sent the last ball soaring into the stands for a six.