India demolish New Zealand on the back of Kishan and Arshdeep as 271 proved 46 runs too many for New Zealand.
Normal service resumed in Thiruvananthapuram as India returned to full strength in terms of both personnel and hitting power following the defeat in Visakhapatnam, where they paid the price for selecting an unbalanced, experimental lineup lacking batting depth. In their final official match before the T20 World Cup, they performed almost flawlessly, and Ishan Kishan scored his first T20I century to help India to their third-highest total in the format.
With significant contributions from Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, and Hardik Pandya, India reached a joint-high of 23 sixes in a Twenty20 International innings.
Kishan also appeared to conclude the battle for the wicketkeeper-opener position, which will become available when Tilak Varma rejoins the team for the World Cup, as Sanju Samson suffered yet another poor score in front of his devoted home audience. One factor that could work against Kishan is his left-handedness in a high order that is dominated by left-handers. He also had a challenging night with the gloves, which he grabbed instead of Samson, missing a catch and a stumping.
Finn Allen, who returned to the national team for the first time since March 2025, continued his barnstorming form from the BBL, smashing 80 off 38 balls, giving New Zealand a brief threat as they chased 272. Together with Rachin Ravindra, he scored 100 off 48 balls, but given the size of New Zealand’s target, India merely needed to end this partnership to regain control. Arshdeep Singh and Axar Patel made the crucial breakthroughs, and Arshdeep finished with 5 for 51, his first five-for in T20Is, after giving up 40 in his two powerplay overs.
India wrapped up victory by 46 runs, and the margin may have been far greater had they not thrown the ball to their part-timers for the last two overs.