Ishan Kishan's Century Powers India to Series Victory Over New Zealand in Final T20I

Thiruvananthapuram. Aided by an explosive century from Ishan Kishan and lethal bowling from Arshdeep Singh, India defeated New Zealand by 46 runs in the fifth and final T20I match.

By winning the match held in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday, India clinched the five-match series 4-1. After India set a massive target of 272 runs, New Zealand was bundled out for 225 in 19.4 overs, securing a resounding victory for India.

Having won the toss and elected to bat first, India posted a massive total of 271 runs for the loss of 5 wickets in their allotted 20 overs. This is India's third-highest score in T20 Internationals.

Opener Ishan Kishan completely dominated the Indian innings. He smashed a century in just 42 balls, troubling the Kiwi bowlers. Kishan played an explosive innings of 103 runs off just 43 balls, featuring 10 sixes and 6 fours.

He was strongly supported by Captain Suryakumar Yadav, who scored 63 runs off 30 balls, and Hardik Pandya, who made 42 runs off 17 balls. With Abhishek Sharma also adding 30 runs off 16 balls, India managed to score 188 runs in the final 11 overs. While Lockie Ferguson took 2 wickets for New Zealand, Captain Mitchell Santner proved very expensive, conceding 60 runs in 4 overs.

Chasing the target, New Zealand had a poor start, losing their first wicket for 17 runs. Finn Allen and Rachin Ravindra gave some hope by putting on a 100-run partnership for the second wicket off 48 balls.

Although Allen played a blistering innings of 80 runs off 38 balls, the New Zealand batting line collapsed after his dismissal. Rachin contributed 30 runs, but the other batters could not withstand the Indian bowlers.

In terms of bowling, Arshdeep Singh was the hero for India. He delivered a career-best performance, taking 5 wickets. This was also the first 'five-wicket haul' of his T20 International career.

Axar Patel supported Arshdeep's lethal bowling by taking 3 wickets, while Rinku Singh and Varun Chakravarthy each claimed 1 wicket. India, which performed excellently throughout the series, maintained its dominance in the final match to capture the trophy.