Choosing to bat first after winning the toss at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui, India sealed a perfect 5-0 series victory over New Zealand, winning the final T20I by a slim margin of 7 runs.
KL Rahul and Sanju Samson started the innings, but Samson was quickly dismissed for 2, bringing Rohit Sharma to the crease. The top order remained steady until the 11th over, when Rahul exited with 45 runs from 33 balls, replaced by Shreyas Iyer. Rohit Sharma managed a solid 60 from 41 balls but had to leave the field due to a spasm; Shivam Dube stepped in but only added 5 runs to the total.
The New Zealanders were tasked with chasing 163-3 in 20 overs. Despite half-centuries from Tim Seifert (50 off 30) and Ross Taylor (53 off 47), the rest of the squad struggled to contribute. Tom Bruce was stumped by KL Rahul for 0, and Shardul Thakur claimed the wicket of Scott Kuggeleijn, who also failed to score. New Zealand ended the game at 156-9, with Bumrah earning the Player of the Match award for his dominance.
In a World Cup year, India has achieved a rare feat by completely whitewashing their opponents in a T20I series. The rivalry continues on February 5th at Hamilton Park, where the two sides will kick off a three-match ODI series, followed by two Test matches.