Arshdeep hit 14 off four balls and took 3 for 30, and India have won the New Zealand ODI series 3-1
India defended 209 at Bay Oval to win the fifth ODI by 22 runs and hand New Zealand their first home ODI series defeat in seven years.
Nov 15, 2026
India were 34 for 3 at Bay Oval and finished on 209, a total that looked short on a seaming pitch. It was enough. Arshdeep Singh took 3 for 30, New Zealand were bowled out for 187 in the 49th over, and India won the fifth ODI by 22 runs on Sunday, 15 November, to take the series 3-1.
It is India’s first ODI series win in New Zealand since 2018-19. Two days earlier, at the same ground, they had been bowled out for 89 and beaten by 244 runs.
Kishan and Axar both make 46
Mitchell Santner won the toss for the first time in the series and chose to bowl. Rohit Sharma made 7 and Virat Kohli 5, both caught off Matt Fisher, and Ruturaj Gaikwad edged Jacob Duffy for 18. At 34 for 3 in the ninth over, Axar Patel was sent in.
He made 46 off 55, and Ishan Kishan matched him with 46 off 58, hitting Duffy for both his sixes. Shreyas Iyer added 22 and Naman Dhir 22 off 31. Then Santner took three wickets, Yash Thakur fell for a duck on his ODI debut, and India were 183 for 9 when Kishan was out.
Mohammed Siraj, in his first match of the tour, and Arshdeep added 26 for the last wicket. Arshdeep hit two sixes in a 14 that took four balls, and Siraj finished on 14 not out. It was the first time India had passed 200 in the series. Santner ended with 3 for 47 and Duffy with 3 for 60.
Four seamers and no spin until the 36th over
Under lights, the ball moved for every one of India’s quicks. Siraj struck first when Tim Seifert slogged to mid-on for 14. Arshdeep had Will Young caught for 22 off a bouncer, and Nick Kelly bottom-edged a cut onto his stumps for 24. Siraj came back to knock over Finn Allen’s off stump for 1, and New Zealand were 83 for 4.
Dean Foxcroft, who was dropped at second slip early in his innings, top-scored with 31 off 42. Auqib Nabi had Michael Bracewell caught for 19, and Thakur took his first ODI wicket when Foxcroft dragged a pull onto his stumps. Both fell with the score on 119.
Iyer kept his quicks going and did not bring on spin until the 36th over. Santner made a fight of it, taking on Axar during a seventh-wicket stand of 39 with Kristian Clarke, before Dhir had him caught for 24. Iyer had kept one Arshdeep over back, and Arshdeep used it to get Clarke caught behind for 16. Axar took the last two wickets, Kishan stumping Blair Tickner to finish it, and ended with 2 for 28.
Arshdeep’s 3 for 30 came from his full ten overs, and with his 14 it made him player of the match. Gurnoor Brar, who took nine wickets in the series before joining the Test squad, was player of the series.
“It wasn’t a series for batsmen”
Iyer captained the last two games after Shubman Gill left for the Test series. “Definitely, if you see the whole series, it wasn’t a series for batsmen,” he said. “The way the bowlers bowled, they stood up to the occasion.”
He also spoke about the squad changing as Test players left. “At some point of time it becomes challenging for the players when there’s chopping and changing,” he said. “But we didn’t want to give any excuse.”
The third ODI in Hamilton was abandoned without a ball bowled, so the 3-1 came from four completed games. New Zealand had not lost an ODI series at home in seven years, and India were the last side to beat them there, back in 2019.
No India batter made 100 runs across the series. That says plenty about the pitches and a little about the batting. On Sunday, the bowlers covered for it.
Next, the Tests
India also won the T20I series 3-2 earlier on the tour. The first of two Tests starts in Wellington on 19 November, and the second is in Christchurch from 27 November.