New Zealand beat India by seven wickets in the fifth and final T20I in Hamilton on Sunday, but India claimed the five match series 3-2.
Tim Seifert and Glenn Phillips led the hosts to victory as New Zealand chased down a target of 192 with two overs remaining. Seifert smashed 93 off 50 balls, while Phillips remained unbeaten on 65 off 38 deliveries.
Earlier, India posted 191/8 in their 20 overs after New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner won the toss and chose to bowl.
India lost Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson early as Adam Milne struck twice. Abhishek fell for a duck, while Samson managed just four runs. Ishan Kishan and captain Shreyas Iyer then led India’s recovery with an attacking partnership.
Kishan scored 61 off 32 balls, while Iyer struck 50 off just 22 deliveries. Naman Dhir added 33 off 23 balls towards the end of the innings to help India reach a competitive total.
Milne was the pick of the New Zealand bowlers with four wickets for 19 runs.
New Zealand also suffered an early setback in their chase when Arshdeep Singh dismissed Finn Allen for two. However, Seifert took control of the innings with a series of boundaries.
He added 73 runs with Daryl Mitchell, who scored 29 off 16 balls before Varun Chakaravarthy removed him. Seifert continued his attack and brought New Zealand closer to the target before falling for 93.
Phillips then took charge and completed his fourth half century of the series. He finished unbeaten on 65 as New Zealand reached the target on the final ball of the 18th over.
The victory gave New Zealand their second straight win after losing the opening three matches. India had already secured the series with three consecutive victories before the final two games.
