Sanju flops but Ishan Kishan's powerful ton gives India big win in Thiruvananthapuram T20I

Ishan Kishan's powerful century gave India a comfortable 46-run win over New Zealand in the fifth and final T20 at Thiruvananthapuram to wrap up the series 4-1. A mighty chase of 272 was always going to be difficult for the visitors, even as the surface at the Greenfield Stadium remained a batting paradise throughout the match.

New Zealand had a fighting chance when opener Finn Allen smashed it around the ground. Eight fours and six sixes flowed off his bat, giving no chance whatsoever to the covering fielders. The only time his arm strength let him down was as he arched back and tried to clear long on to an Axar Patel delivery, only to find Rinku Singh. Allen perished for 80 off 38, ending a 100-run stand with Rachin Ravindra (30).

Arshdeep Singh reminded the management that he was, in fact, a fine T20 bowler, just too good to be treated as a bench player, with a fifer (5/51). He benefited from the climbing run rate by claiming the wickets of Tim Seifert (5), Ravindra, Mitchell Santner (0), Daryl Mitchell (26) and Kyle Jamieson (9).

In between, the ground staff did a commendable job of wiping off the dew as best they could, enabling the slow bowlers, Patel and Varun Chakravarthy, to spin their magic. Patel removed Allen and Glenn Phillips, while Chakravarthy castled Bevon Jacobs (7).

It was pressure that led to the Kiwis' undoing, and India's diminutive wicketkeeper batter Kishan played a significant part in applying that. The left-hander hit 103 off just 43 balls, clubbing 10 sixes, the last of which was swept over midwicket to bring up his maiden T20I ton.

Not only did he engineer India's win tonight, but he might also have steered himself into the World Cup squad in the process. Kishan has been brilliant this series, scoring a half century and a century, continuing the momentum built by the incomparable Abhishek Sharma. This series, the last before the World Cup starting February 7, should be enough to guarantee him a spot in the squad.

To make matters easy for Kishan, his wicketkeeping rival, Sanju Samson, threw away his opportunity, making just 46 runs from five innings. He perished for just 6 in his first T20I on home ground.

Kishan's power game was complemented by skipper Suryakumar Yadav, who hit his third half-century of the series - 63 off 30. Hardik Pandya entertained the crowd with his flat, power-packed big hits, making 42 off 17.

Brief scores: India 271/5 in 20 overs (Ishan Kishan 103, Suryakumar Yadav 63, Hardik Pandya 42, Abhishek Sharma 30, Lockie Ferguson 2/41) bt New Zealand 225 in 19.4 overs (Finn Allen 80, Rachin Ravindra 30, Daryl Mitchell 26, Arshdeep Singh 5/51, Axar Patel 3/33)