NZ vs IND 2026, 5th T20I: India player ratings as unconvincing effort from Shreyas & Co. reduces series victory margin

New Zealand beat India by seven wickets in the fifth and final T20I in Hamilton on Sunday, November 1. With the win, the Black Caps reduced the margin of defeat in the five-match series to a respectable 3-2.

Batting first, the Men in Blue managed a below-par 191/8 after the early dismissals of their openers. Although they had slightly more firepower in the bowling department, they couldn't restrict the likes of Tim Seifert in the chase as New Zealand got over the line with two overs to spare.

On that note, here are India's player ratings from the fifth T20I against New Zealand.

NZ vs IND 2026: Openers fail as India succumb to second successive loss

Sanju Samson: 2/10

Samson notched up a failure to close out the series against New Zealand. He never seemed to be in any sort of rhythm before a tame dismissal brought about his downfall.

Abhishek Sharma: 3/10

Abhishek endured a rare failure in the fifth T20I. The left-hander tried to take on Adam Milne but hacked one across the line to be caught. He bowled one over that went for 13 runs.

Ishan Kishan: 8/10

Back at his usual No. 3 spot after recovering from an injury, Kishan turned in a vintage performance. Breaking a few run-scoring records for the calendar year, the left-hander notched up a sparkling half-century.

Tilak Varma: 3/10

Tilak just isn't convincing enough when batting outside the death overs. This time, he managed just six runs off eight balls before being dismissed by a hard-length delivery from Nathan Smith.

Shreyas Iyer: 7/10

Shreyas hasn't been at his best so far in the series, but he managed a fifty in Hamilton. Aided by some poor bowling, the Indian skipper finally got himself among the runs in a T20I away from home. His bowling changes were slightly too templatized.

Naman Dhir: 7/10

Dhir chipped in with yet another cameo, although he doesn't seem capable of making bigger scores at the top level just yet. Clearly, though, there's enough there to work with.

Varun Chakaravarthy: 5/10

Playing his first game of the series, Varun clearly wasn't at his fluent best. He went for 45 runs in his four overs, and although he dismissed Daryl Mitchell, he's usually far more accurate and penetrative.

Nitish Kumar Reddy: 6.5/10

Reddy essayed a brief cameo and sent down two decent overs that produced a wicket.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar: 4.5/10

Bhuvneshwar's international comeback against New Zealand finished in rather disappointing fashion. He has seemed off the pace throughout, and in Hamilton, he went for 41 runs without picking up a wicket.

Arshdeep Singh: 6/10

Arshdeep grabbed the important wicket of Finn Allen early on, although he ended up going for 40 runs by the end of his spell. The left-armer isn't the most convincing, but he has kept himself in the scheme of things.

Prince Yadav: 4/10

Prince had a disappointing outing, being thrashed for 35 runs in the three overs he bowled, including two sixes off his first two deliveries. The fast bowler has telegraphed some of his key weapons.

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