Abhishek needs 13 runs to pass Suryakumar’s record, and India play for 4-1 in Hamilton

The series has been won, but Friday’s game in Auckland made the last one more interesting than a dead rubber usually is. India lead New Zealand 3-1 going into the fifth T20I at Seddon Park, Hamilton, on Sunday, 1 November, with play starting at 12:30pm IST. New Zealand won the fourth match by 87 runs after making 259 for 7, their highest T20I total.

Abhishek and Kishan are a few runs from Suryakumar

Suryakumar Yadav made 1,164 T20I runs in 2022, the most by an Indian batter in a calendar year. Two of India’s openers are within a decent over of it. Abhishek Sharma made 27 at Eden Park and sits 12 short, so 13 in Hamilton would take the record. Ishan Kishan, back in the side in Auckland after missing two games with a right adductor strain, fell for a duck there and needs six.

Whether both get the chance depends on how India set up. Sanju Samson made 67 in the opener in Christchurch and has 14, 18 and 4 since, and the most likely change is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi coming in for him. It would be a harsh call on the man of the match from the first game, but four innings is a fair sample in a series India have already won.

Phillips is chasing Phil Salt

New Zealand have a record chase of their own. Glenn Phillips’ 107 off 49 balls in Auckland took him to 276 runs in four matches. According to CricViz, only Mark Chapman, with 290 against Pakistan in 2023, has made more for New Zealand in a five-match bilateral T20I series. The record for any team is Phil Salt’s 331 for England against West Indies in 2023, and Phillips needs 56 to pass it.

Michael Bracewell, who made 65 off 25 balls in Auckland, is in form too. He and Phillips put on 115 for the fifth wicket at Eden Park, and India had no answer to either of them.

India’s selection questions

The bowling has been the problem all series. Arshdeep Singh is the only Indian bowler going at under ten an over. Spin-bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule has said Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy are both ready if they are needed. Fitting one of them in would probably cost Naman Dhir his place and take some depth out of the batting.

Shreyas Iyer has his own form to think about. Since his maiden T20I hundred against West Indies in Lucknow, the captain’s last eight innings read 40, 1, 16, 22, 42, 7, 5 and 22.

What Seddon Park has given India before

Teams batting first have usually won T20Is at Seddon Park, and India’s last two games here were both close. In February 2019 New Zealand made 212 for 4 and won by four runs. In January 2020 the teams tied on 179, and Rohit Sharma hit Tim Southee for six off the last two balls of the super over to win the game and the series.

The five-match ODI series starts on 4 November, so this is the last T20I of the tour.

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