On January 28, Team India slipped from its winning streak as New Zealand got its first win in the ongoing 5-match T20 series after losing the last three matches. The victory against India will boost the confidence of the Kiwi team before the ICC T20 World Cup 2026.
As we know, a coin also has two opposite sides, just like the result of a match. If the India vs New Zealand 4th T20 match brings joy to the New Zealand camp, then it may raise many questions for the Indian cricket team. On most occasions, in the T20I format, whenever Abhishek Sharma has performed brilliantly, India have won comfortably. Last night, in Visakhapatnam, Sharma failed to perform well and India ultimately lost the match. As against New Zealand’s 215 runs in the first innings, India could score only 165 runs in 18.4 overs and lost its last batsman.
Ahead of the 2026 World Cup and India vs New Zealand 5th T20 match, the home team will have to prepare itself keeping in mind any situation. Anyway, Abhishek Sharma lost his wicket early in the match, so it was the duty of the other batsmen to carry the team on their shoulders.
India Playing XI vs New Zealand – 5th T20I:
Openers: Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson.
Without Abhishek Sharma, Team India’s position in T20I does not look good. The left-hander toyed with the New Zealand bowlers in the first three matches of the series before being dismissed for a golden duck during the fourth match. It is wrong to expect someone to score runs in every game.
Like any other cricketer on the planet, Sharma can also have a bad day on the field. Since the team and fans have high expectations from him, the batsman himself will try to play as per his ability. In his opening half, Sanju Samson finally scored some notable runs last night after a 3-match run drought.
Middle order: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shivam Dubey, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh.
For the fourth game, the Indian team management left Ishan Kishan on the sidelines to give Arshdeep Singh, who had a minor injury, some game time ahead of the 2026 World Cup. Sharma, like Yadav and Pandya, who have been showing promise, are performing poorly in Visakhapatnam. Rinku added some valuable runs, while Dubey scored a half-century. The batsmen, who suddenly lost their wickets cheaply, will look to make a comeback as the fifth T20I will be their last bilateral T20I before the important event.
Bowlers: Harshit Rana, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah.
The bowlers also had a tough performance last night. Rana, Bishnoi proved to be very expensive against the New Zealand batsmen. In the presence of 5 specialist bowlers, the visiting team scored more than two hundred runs on the board.
India’s playing XI: Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shivam Dubey, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Harshit Rana, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah.
New Zealand Playing XI vs India-5th T20I:
Openers: Devon Conway and Tim Seifert.
New Zealand cricket team can be even more dangerous in the last match of the series because they have finally seen a ray of hope. The team management is constantly putting its trust in a certain group of players. Conway and Seifert, who had been struggling in the series, got some valuable runs and mostly found the mojo they were missing most.
Middle order: Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell.
Rachin Ravindra is not back in his form yet. In the fourth match, New Zealand scored 215 runs, but Ravindra got only 2 runs. The 5th match of the series could be their last chance to get their momentum back. Apart from Ravindra, other middle-order batsmen in the lineup have more or less scored a significant amount of runs overall.
Bowlers: Mitchell Santner (captain), Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy.
In the last match, New Zealand’s bowlers were equally impressive as their batsmen. Captain Mitchell Santner also performed poorly and took 3 valuable wickets. Matt Henry helped the team get rid of Abhishek Sharma immediately. Other full-time bowlers also made positive contributions in the match.
New Zealand Playing XI: Devon Conway, Tim Seifert (wk), Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner (c), Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi and Jacob Duffy.
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