IND vs NZ 5th T20I: Sanju Samson’s last audition, Finn Allen’s return

When India face New Zealand in the 5th and final T20I in Thiruvananthapuram, it’s essentially a last audition for Sanju Samson before the 2026 T20 World Cup, and coming dashing into this match, he’s got the weight of expectation and a rather dire run of form that’s putting his World Cup spot in the balance.

Samson, the Kerala wicketkeeper-batter, gets one final chance to silence the people who are questioning his ability, especially after a meager 40 runs in four innings at a lackluster average of 10. New Zealand, on the other hand, welcome back Finn Allen, straight from his breathtakingly successful stint in the Big Bash League where he led the run charts with a colossal 466 runs at a strike rate of 184.18.

The fifth T20I on Saturday, January 31st at 7 PM IST promises to be the ultimate meeting of contrasting narratives, one of a man desperate to find form and the other of an individual riding the crest of a wave of confidence.

The grim stats behind Samson’s series

The stats tell a grim story of Samson’s current form.

10, 6, 0 And 24 in this series, that opening duck in Guwahi, caught him out completely when Matt Henry sent down a beauty that sent him tumbling over his own crease, and showed a weakness in his technique that New Zealand’s speedsters have mercilessly exploited.

Technical issues New Zealand have exploited

This isn’t anything new. In ’25, Samson stuttered to just 302 runs in fifteen T20Is, at a paltry average of 20.18. Coming late back onto the crease and getting stuck in, makes him sitting ducks for balls fired down the middle and leg stump. Matt Henry and Kyle Jamieson have consistently found him with straight, true lines that won’t let him swing his bat freely to the off side.

Devang Gandhi, a former India opener, said that right now Samson looks like a sitting duck, and for the World Cup, you want both your openers firing on all cylinders.

Morne Morkel, the bowling coach, has thrown his weight behind Samson, saying he’s basically just one good knock away from regaining his confidence, which he desperately needs to deliver tonight. Coming up against Ishan Kishan who has absolutely exploded in the second T20I and is generally looking sharp throughout the series, doesn’t make things any easier for Samson. The electric atmosphere at the stadium will be a recipe for a thrilling encounter, when the Indian and New Zealand teams face off today. Coming hustling over off the heels of three out of four T20Is won by India, this is the sort of venue that can be a pressure-reliever for the hosts.

Abhishek Sharma’s series domination

Abhishek Sharma, the opening partner of Rishabh Samson, has been absolutely dominating this series, thanks to a rating of 929 points and a strike rate of 195.22 in 36 T20Is.

His 84 off 35 balls in Nagpur and 68 not out off 20 in Guwahi showed the extent of his clean hitting that makes him a nightmare for the bowlers, and his Guwahati knock which consisted of a 14-ball fifty. The second-fastest by an Indian in T20Is, just two balls short of his idol Yuvraj Singh’s record set during the 2007 World Cup.

The comparison with Yuvraj Singh is not a coincidence. Abhishek has smacked an impressive 86 sixes in just 35 T20I innings and holds the record for the most sixes in a T20I innings by an Indian, no less than thirteen off 54 balls in his knock of 135 against England last February. Coming from Sanjay Manjrekar, that’s high praise, who said Abhishek doesn’t even care about statistics which makes him a truly exceptional player. Well-known for not stopping at the current series, India’s batting force doesn’t run dry, and captain Suryakumar Yadav is on the cusp of joining the elite club of players with over 3,000 runs in T20Is, having scored a mind-boggling 171 runs in just four innings.

Finn Allen’s BBL form changes the tone

Coming from a campaign marked by the 3-0 deficit against India at the beginning, New Zealand’s struggles had really shown in their batting fragility, but the return of Finn Allen has shaken up the landscape.

Allen’s impressive 466 runs, and 37 sixes in the BBL season made him the top scorer that year. Gone through a lot of changes since then, he’s now settling into a zone and finishing games. Just 19 off his first seventeen balls before blasting his way to 49 off the last thirty in the last qualifying final.

Ross Taylor is expecting Allen and Tim Seifert to open for the Kiwis in the World Cup, and Seifert has been their rock of consistency in this series, his 62 off 36 in Visakhapatnam set them up for their only victory. When discussing the New Zealand batting lineup, Devon Conway is the man who’s been opening in all four matches but averaging just over 20. Coming heading back, Glenn Phillips’ return could mean Conway finds himself relegated to the middle order or competing with Rachin Ravindra for a spot.

Bowling matchups and key milestones

Captain Mitchell Santner has been a real workhorse with the ball in the fourth T20I, taking 3/26 and his left-arm spin, combined with Ish Sodhi’s leg-spin will really test the heart of the Indian batting order. Sodhi needs just two more wickets to become New Zealand’s all-time leading T20I wicket-taker, with 164 already to his name.

Well-known Indian batter Shivam Dube brought the house down in the fourth T20I with a whirlwind 65 off just 23 balls.

His 15-ball fifty was the third-fastest by an Indian in the T20I format, and basically carried the Indian chase from a hopeless 82/5.

Dube’s aggressive play was as unrelenting as his performance that day. He went after Ish Sodhi’s legspin with 2,4,6,4,6,6 in one over, sending the ball hurtling towards the arc, and finished his knock with seven sixes.

This particular knock did expose India’s problem with their lower order though. When Dube got out, the last five wickets managed to add a paltry 20 runs and the World Cup is looming on the horizon so India will want to sort out their tail-end issues.

Greenfield Stadium and match conditions

Greenfield Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram has been a fortress for India.

They won three out of the four T20Is played at this venue, including a crushing 44-run victory over Australia in 2023 where they chased down a massive total and a match against South Africa in 2022 in which Arshdeep Singh’s 3/32 bowled the Proteas out for 106.

The last two T20Is played at this venue saw contrasting results with the Australia game being high-scoring and the South African game being more in the bowlers’ favour. Temperatures are forecasted to be low-to-mid 20s on Saturday evening, an absolute delight for batting.

World Cup rehearsal and selection pressure

Looking at the upcoming T20 World Cup starting February 7th, both India and New Zealand see this series as a dress rehearsal.

Coming into this series as the defending champions, India have their best XI nearly finalised, and it’s a done deal for Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel, who’ve both been given a well-deserved break at times this series.

Jasprit Bumrah‘s form is top-notch, but still reeling from a costly over in Visakhapatnam. The biggest uncertainty for India is Samson’s opening spot and Harshit Rana’s ability to solidify a role as a death-overs specialist. Something he’s yet to convincingly do, batting at number seven in the last T20I didn’t really cut it.

Well-known for their 2024 group stage exit still aching, New Zealand have also exposed vulnerabilities against quality spin and pace in this series. Jacob Duffy has shown himself to be their best bowler with his remarkable swing but the batting order, excluding Allen and Seifert, has been very erratic.

Santner’s stated that they’ll use these matches to think about what to expect in the World Cup, and the turny Thiruvananthapurm pitch will be a test that’s similar to what they’ll face in India.

Most likely XIs for the 5th T20I

India’s most likely XI is Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson opening, followed by Suryakumar Yadav at three, then Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube and Rinku Singh.

Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and a combination of Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi are going to be their main bowlers.

Coming into this series, Ishan Kishan is nursing a niggling problem from the last T20I, and if he’s fit, could push Samson into a high-pressure spot where both of them have different roles.

New Zealand are going to throw Finn Allen right into the mix, opening up with Conway or Seifert. Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips and Mark Chapman will cover the middle order, and their fast bowlers, Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy and Zak Foulkes will share the load with the spinners Scott Santner and Michael Sodhi.

Key stakes and final narrative shift

When India and New Zealand face each other in the fifth and final T20I in Thiruvananthapuram, the stakes are high for India’s Sanju Samson, who has averaged just 10 in this series, and is in the process of being audited for his spot in the World Cup opening line-up and pitted against in-form Ishan Kishan, a backup.

India’s legspinner, the leg-spinner, will target him for revenge and Abhishek Sharma will look for a chance at making up for the slow start for India in the tournament, in this fixture.

India’s 1st taste of the West Indies style bowling in this tour comes against the world’s top rated T20I bowler Bumrah. His ability to swing the brand-new ball and throw absolute nails down the line will put Allen’s confidence as a BBL player to the test.

Phillips, Mitchell and Chapman, the New Zealand middle order have never been known for being quite so effective against top-notch spin bowling. Well-known mystery spinner Chakravarthy and the very experienced Kuldeep Yadav are going to test them out. The former with his bewildering variations and the latter with drift and turn.

Sanju Samson’s average of just 10 in this series won’t fill him up with confidence for his home game, and makes this match really important for his World Cup aspirations.

The highest rated T20I batsman Abhishek Sharma leads the world in his rating, after his mind-boggling 14-ball half-century in Guwahi stood out in this tour, which is the second fastest half-century by an Indian in the history of the format. Finn Allen comes into this match having scored 466 runs in the BBL at a strike rate of 184.18 and gives New Zealand a major boost right at the top, after being out of the team for four games.

India have won three of their four T20Is here at the Greenfield Stadium, which were dominating displays against Australia in 2023 and South Africa in ‘22. Suryakumar Yadav needs 33 more runs to become the twelfth player to reach the 3000-run mark in the T20I format.

The IND vs NZ 5th T20I has implications beyond being a dead-rubber. For Samson, it’s basically his last chance to knock on the door for the World Cup, and for Allen and New Zealand it’s about getting back on the right track.