IND vs NZ: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi on the bench again; Shreyas Iyer makes two changes for fifth T20I against New Zealand
toi
newspoint|01-11-2026
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner finally won a toss in the five-match T20I series and elected to bowl first in the fifth and final match against India at Seddon Park on Sunday.
After losing the toss in the first four matches, Santner got his first win at the coin toss. Both teams made two changes to their playing XIs for the final game.
India brought back Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Varun Chakravarthy, leaving out Mayank Yadav and Axar Patel. New Zealand included Blair Tickner in place of Matt Fisher.
Teenage batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi , however, was once again left out of the playing XI.
No place for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was once again left out of the playing XI. The teenager has featured in only two matches in the series, coming into the side when Ishan Kishan was injured.
India have already taken an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series. They won the first three matches to seal the series before New Zealand bounced back with an 87-run victory in the fourth T20I.
Both teams will now look to finish the series with a win.
Bhuvneshwar, Varun return to India's playing XI
India captain Shreyas Iyer said the team wanted to bat first and test themselves after chasing in all four previous matches.
"[On batting first in the final T20I] Yeah, I mean it's a great occasion to come here, especially in this historical ground. And we were looking to bat as well. Absolutely, we wanted to test ourselves batting first, you know, all the four games we chased. So want to have a feel of how the wicket will play in the first innings," Iyer said.
"[On India's plans after the defeat in Auckland] In Auckland the dimensions were different. Bowlers had a little bit of different plans against certain batsmen. But also credit where it's due. Phillips, he played exceptional knock. But it's important that we go by instincts and see to it that we bowl according to the plan and also what the wicket requires. [On the team changes and Varun's opportunity] We've got two changes. Varun comes in and Bhuvi comes in. Yes, absolutely. He's been waiting for his opportunity and today I feel that even in the huddle, he gave us a beautiful speech. So he's pumped up and he's looking forward for this contest," he said.
Bhuvneshwar was dropped for the fourth T20I after failing to make a big impact in his first three matches of the series. Varun returned after missing the one-off T20I against Japan and the Asian Games because of an abdominal side strain suffered during the Afghanistan series.
Santner wins first toss of the series
Santner said he was expecting to lose the toss again but was happy to get the opportunity to bowl first.
"I just assumed I'd lose the toss. We'll have a bowl. Obviously a new pitch. Might be a little bit of dew later. Have to adapt quickly to the dimensions. If there's a bit of bounce like Eden Park, it will be nice. Obviously, with the bat, we've been good this whole series. Was obviously a bit more in the wicket the other night which was nice for the seamers. One change. Tickner is back," Santner said at the toss.
New Zealand made one change, bringing Tickner back into the side in place of Fisher.
India vs New Zealand 5th T20I : Playing XIs
New Zealand: Tim Seifert (w), Finn Allen, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Bevon Jacobs, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Nathan Smith, Adam Milne, Jacob Duffy, Blair Tickner.
India: Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (w), Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy.
After losing the toss in the first four matches, Santner got his first win at the coin toss. Both teams made two changes to their playing XIs for the final game.
India brought back Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Varun Chakravarthy, leaving out Mayank Yadav and Axar Patel. New Zealand included Blair Tickner in place of Matt Fisher.
Teenage batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi , however, was once again left out of the playing XI.
No place for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was once again left out of the playing XI. The teenager has featured in only two matches in the series, coming into the side when Ishan Kishan was injured.
India have already taken an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series. They won the first three matches to seal the series before New Zealand bounced back with an 87-run victory in the fourth T20I.
Both teams will now look to finish the series with a win.
Bhuvneshwar, Varun return to India's playing XI
India captain Shreyas Iyer said the team wanted to bat first and test themselves after chasing in all four previous matches.
"[On batting first in the final T20I] Yeah, I mean it's a great occasion to come here, especially in this historical ground. And we were looking to bat as well. Absolutely, we wanted to test ourselves batting first, you know, all the four games we chased. So want to have a feel of how the wicket will play in the first innings," Iyer said.
"[On India's plans after the defeat in Auckland] In Auckland the dimensions were different. Bowlers had a little bit of different plans against certain batsmen. But also credit where it's due. Phillips, he played exceptional knock. But it's important that we go by instincts and see to it that we bowl according to the plan and also what the wicket requires. [On the team changes and Varun's opportunity] We've got two changes. Varun comes in and Bhuvi comes in. Yes, absolutely. He's been waiting for his opportunity and today I feel that even in the huddle, he gave us a beautiful speech. So he's pumped up and he's looking forward for this contest," he said.
Bhuvneshwar was dropped for the fourth T20I after failing to make a big impact in his first three matches of the series. Varun returned after missing the one-off T20I against Japan and the Asian Games because of an abdominal side strain suffered during the Afghanistan series.
Santner wins first toss of the series
Santner said he was expecting to lose the toss again but was happy to get the opportunity to bowl first.
"I just assumed I'd lose the toss. We'll have a bowl. Obviously a new pitch. Might be a little bit of dew later. Have to adapt quickly to the dimensions. If there's a bit of bounce like Eden Park, it will be nice. Obviously, with the bat, we've been good this whole series. Was obviously a bit more in the wicket the other night which was nice for the seamers. One change. Tickner is back," Santner said at the toss.
New Zealand made one change, bringing Tickner back into the side in place of Fisher.
India vs New Zealand 5th T20I : Playing XIs
New Zealand: Tim Seifert (w), Finn Allen, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Bevon Jacobs, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Nathan Smith, Adam Milne, Jacob Duffy, Blair Tickner.
India: Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (w), Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy.
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