Ishan Kishan smashed a brilliant century while Arshdeep Singh picked up a five-wicket haul as India beat New Zealand by 46 runs in the fifth T20I. The Men in Blue won the series 4-1.
Batting first, they put up a mammoth total of 271/5. Ishan Kishan was the star of the show with his stellar ton. He smashed 103 runs off just 43 balls with six boundaries and 10 sixes at a strike rate of 239.53.
Suryakumar Yadav (63), Hardik Pandya (42), and Abhishek Sharma (30) also made important contributions to the total. New Zealand were bowled out for 225 in 19.4 overs.
Arshdeep Singh led the charge with figures of 5/51 from four overs. Axar Patel also impressed with figures of 3/33 from four overs. For his exceptional ton, Ishan Kishan was named ‘Player of the Match’.
On that note, let us take a look at five milestones made by India in the fifth T20I against the Kiwis.
#5 Fifth-highest total in T20Is (Full Member Nations)
India’s total of 271/5 against New Zealand in Trivandrum in the fifth T20I is the fifth-highest against a full member nation. The record for the highest total is held by England, who made 304/2 against South Africa at Manchester in 2025.
India’s total is behind Afghanistan’s 278/3 against Ireland in Dehradun in 2019, their own totals of 283/1 against South Africa at Johannesburg in 2024, 297/6 against Bangladesh at Hyderabad in 2024.
#4 Most sixes by a team in a bilateral series
The Indian batters went all guns blazing multiple times throughout the series. In the fifth game alone, they smashed 23 sixes in their innings, 10 of which were hit by Ishan Kishan. Overall, India hit 69 sixes in the five-match series, the most by any team in a bilateral series.
They went past England’s tally of 64 sixes against the West Indies in a five-match series in 2023, and Australia’s tally of 64, also against the West Indies in 2023.
#3 Fastest to 3000 T20I runs (by balls faced)
Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav became the fastest batter to reach 3000 T20I runs in terms of balls faced. He achieved the milestone in 1822 balls, going past Muhammad Wasim, who previously held the record (1947 balls).
Suryakumar also surpassed Jos Buttler (2068 balls), Aaron Finch (2077 balls), and David Warner (2113 balls) on the list. He now has 3030 runs from 98 T20I innings at an average of 36.95 and a strike rate of 165.48 with four centuries and 24 half-centuries.
#2 Joint-most Player of the Series awards in T20Is
Suryakumar Yadav was also adjudged the ‘Player of the Series’ for his outstanding performance across the five games. The Indian skipper led from the front, scoring 242 runs from five innings at an average of 80.66 and a strike rate of 196.74 with three half-centuries.
Notably, he became the player with the joint-most ‘Player of the Series’ awards, winning it for the sixth time in his T20I career. He joined former T20I batter Virat Kohli and Sri Lankan all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga on the list, who also have six such awards each.
#1 Fastest T20I hundred against New Zealand
Ishan Kishan’s blistering 42-ball ton is also the fastest against New Zealand in T20Is. Sri Lanka’s Kusal Perera previously held the record with a 44-ball ton at Nelson in 2025.
It was also the fastest T20I hundred by an Indian against New Zealand, going past Suryakumar’s 49-ball ton in 2022. Moreover, Ishan Kishan’s hundred is also the fifth fastest by an Indian in T20Is. He bettered Suryakumar’s 45-ball ton.
Edited by Rishab Vm