India chase a 4-1 finish at Seddon Park as New Zealand seek back-to-back wins

India lead 3-1 going into Sunday's final Twenty20 international at Seddon Park, with New Zealand looking to close an already-decided series with consecutive wins

The fifth and last T20I of India's tour starts at 8pm local time in Hamilton on Sunday, two days after New Zealand ended a run of three straight defeats with an 87-run win at Eden Park.

That was the heaviest result of the series in either direction. New Zealand made 259 for 7, a national record, and India managed 172 for 9 in reply after choosing to field.

Shreyas Iyer's side had already taken the series by winning the first three matches, so Sunday settles only whether India finish 4-1 or New Zealand pull the margin back to 3-2.

What Eden Park exposed

India's chase was effectively settled in its first over, when Jacob Duffy removed Sanju Samson for 4 and Ishan Kishan for a duck. Duffy finished with 4-23.

Duffy came back later in the innings to remove Naman Dhir and Arshdeep Singh, finishing the job he had started with the new ball.

No India batter passed 35. Tilak Varma made 35, Naman Dhir 28 from 13 balls and Abhishek Sharma 27 from 15, but the innings never threatened a target of 260.

"We fell short with the ball," Iyer said afterwards, noting that several of his players were seeing Eden Park for the first time and would need time to adjust to it. He said the side would go back to the drawing board before Hamilton.

Phillips sets the terms

Glenn Phillips was the difference. He hit 107 from 49 balls with 10 sixes and six fours, and was named player of the match.

His stand of 115 for the fifth wicket with Michael Bracewell, who made 65, turned a competitive score into a record one inside the last eight overs.

"We took most of the risks and it was fantastic," Phillips said. He described a fitness concern picked up during the innings as nothing major.

New Zealand's reshuffled attack

New Zealand have rotated their seamers through the back half of the series with a five-match ODI series to follow. Lockie Ferguson, who missed the Wellington match, was named available for both the fourth and fifth T20Is.

Blair Tickner joined the squad for the final three games and Josh Clarkson was made available for the last two. Kyle Jamieson and Matt Henry have both moved on to one-day duty.

Head coach Rob Walter said the squad had the depth to manage the fast bowlers' workloads, which was the reason for the changes.

Ferguson's return restores one of New Zealand's quickest options for Hamilton, after a middle stretch of the series in which the attack was repeatedly reshuffled.

India's order under scrutiny

India had won the first three without being pushed to a decider. They took the first two matches at Hagley Oval in Christchurch and the third at Sky Stadium in Wellington before the Auckland reverse.

Neither opener lasted the first over at Eden Park, and the recovery was left to the middle order. Kishan had been reported during the tour as carrying an adductor strain, though he was named in the XI in Auckland.

Whether Mitchell Santner's side face a settled India or a rearranged one is the main selection question of the night, with the result carrying no bearing on the series.

What follows the T20Is

The one-day leg begins almost immediately. Henry was due to join the ODI squad in Auckland on 2 November, the day after the Hamilton match.

India's second string is already in the country. India A reached 291 for 7 on the opening day of the second unofficial Test against New Zealand A at Hagley Oval, having drawn the first at Bert Sutcliffe Oval.

Sunday is the last of the Twenty20 cricket on this tour, and the final chance for either side to finish the format on a win.

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