Thiruvananthapuram, January 31: Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh clinched his maiden five-wicket haul in the IND Vs NZ 5th T20I at Greenfield Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday. India sealed the 5-match T20I series by 4-1 against New Zealand, riding on a strong bowling performance from the pacer.
Arshdeep Singh managed to take five wickets in the high-scoring game. However, Arshdeep leaked 51 runs in his four overs to reach his first-ever five wicket haul in a T20I game.
Arshdeep took the wickets of Tim Seifert, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Mitchell Santner and Kylie Jamieson. Arshdeep was very expensive in his first two overs in which he conceded 40 runs. However, he leaked only 11 runs in his other two overs.
Jasprit Bumrah bowled the worst spell of his career as he was smashed for 58 runs in his four overs and the Indian strike bowler went wicket-less in the game. This is concerning as the team is going to enter the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 as the defending champions and their strike bowler seems out of form at the very last moment as the tournament begins in a week.
Batting first, Team India posted a mammoth target of 271 runs against New Zealand after Ishan Kishan scored his maiden ton in the T20Is. New Zealand lost the game by 46 runs as Arshdeep was awarded the Man of The Match award for his first-ever five-wicket haul. The game recorded the most number of sixes as both teams hit 36 sixes in the entire match. It was a tough day for the bowlers which is clear as both teams crossed the 200 runs mark.
