India vs New Zealand 5th T20I Preview
Thiruvananthapuram will host the final T20 match between India and New Zealand on Saturday, 31 January. This match is the last chance for both teams to prepare before the T20 World Cup begins next week. Even though India has already won the series, the final game is still important.
India will want to bounce back after losing by 50 runs in Visakhapatnam on Thursday and go into the World Cup with confidence. New Zealand, on the other hand, will look to learn from their defeats and aim to finish the series strongly, as they prepare to play their usual role as dangerous outsiders in the tournament.
Shreyas Iyer during a practice session at Greenfield International Stadium ahead of the IND vs NZ 5th T20I.
Will Shreyas Iyer get a chance in the playing XI? pic.twitter.com/uwBAaNNR5T
— Sonu (@Cricket_live247) January 30, 2026
Thiruvananthapuram Weather Forecast
The weather in Thiruvananthapurams expected to be slightly cloudy with 69% humidity. The good news for fans is that no rain is expected during the 5th T20I between India and New Zealand.
Pitch report:
The pitch looked dry with no grass and is expected to be very good for batting, just like in the rest of the series. When India played Australia here in 2023, they scored 235 for 4 and won by 44 runs. Dew is expected later in the evening, so the team batting first may need to score 20–30 extra runs to stay safe. The weather will be nice, with sunny skies in the afternoon and no chance of rain on Saturday.
IND vs NZ: Head-to-Head
Team India have won 17th T20I over New Zealand in total. These two sides have played 29 games now; New Zealand have 11 wins, while one match has been washed out.
India’s T20I Record at Green Field Stadium
India have played 4 T20Is at this venue and won all 4 of them, highlighting their strong record.
New Zealand’s T20I Record at Green Field Stadium
New Zealand have played one game and they lost that way back in 2017
Predicted 11
India: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy.
New Zealand: Tim Seifert (wk), Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner (c), K Clarke, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy.
