India vs New Zealand, 5th T20I: India beat New Zealand by 5 wickets, claim series 5-0

Scott Kuggeleijn to partner Tim Southee from the other end.

Tim Southee to S Samson, Another short of a length ball, Samson easily nudges it behind square leg for a run. 8 from the first over.

Tim Southee to KL Rahul, Quick single! A short ball on the body, Rahul looks to pull but gets an inside edge. The ball rolls towards the keeper. Samson though calls for the run and dives to make the ground as the keeper scores a direct hit at the striker's end. The third umpire has been called for and the replays roll in to confirm that he made his ground well in time.

Run out appeal taken upstairs. No one is looking too excited. Let's see what the replays show.

Tim Southee to S Samson, Slightly shortish ball on the body, Samson tucks it towards mid-wicket and gets off the mark.

Tim Southee to KL Rahul, Misfield and a run! Southee bowls a full ball just outside off, Rahul strokes it towards covers where Taylor fumbles and allows a run.

Tim Southee to KL Rahul, FOUR! Off the mark in style! Southee offers width outside off once again, Rahul is too good a player to miss out on another opportunity. He slashes it through point and the ball races away to the fence.

Tim Southee to KL Rahul, Good timing and an excellent stop. Southee starts with a good length ball outside off, Rahul strokes it well but Guptill at point does well to field with a tumble.

Time for the action now! The New Zealand players are in a huddle before they take their respective position in the field. KL Rahul and Sanju Samson stride out to open the innings for India. New Zealand skipper, Tim Southee will take the new ball first up. A wide slip in place and like usual Rahul will take the strike.

New Zealand (Unchanged Playing XI) - Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Tom Bruce, Ross Taylor (100th T20I), Tim Seifert (WK), Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner, Scott Kuggeleijn, Tim Southee (C), Ish Sodhi, Hamish Bennett.

India (Playing XI) - KL Rahul (WK), Sanju Samson, Rohit Sharma (C) (In for Virat Kohli), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini.

New Zealand skipper, Tim Southee says he wanted to bowl as it is a good surface. Informs it was a late change as Kane Williamson was not feeling well during the throwdowns so he had to rush in. Adds they did not want to risk him as they want Kane to play in the ODIs. Tells winning is ideal but they are not thinking too much about it and says they are just looking to do the right things and let the result take care of itself. Reveals that they are playing the same XI as the last game.

Indian skipper, Rohit Sharma says that the pitch looks really good. Tells that they would love to post a big total batting first and defend it. Says that the skipper is taking a rest in this game. Adds that they will try to continue the momentum. Feels that one does not get many opportunity of making it 5-0 but feels that India will not be complacent. Adds that they are not taking New Zealand lightly as they have been playing really well. Reveals that Sanju Samson will open along with KL Rahul and he will bat at no. 3. Confirms that him replacing Kohli is the only change in the team.

Toss - We are all in readiness for the spin of coin. Once again it is Tim Southee who walks out for New Zealand. He has the coin in hand. Rohit Sharma is the one coming out for the toss for India. He calls Heads and it comes down in his favour. INDIA OPT TO BAT!

Pitch Report - Deep Dasgupta and Mike Hesson are down for the pitch report. The former says that it is a good pitch to bat on. Hesson agrees and informs the average score is around 180. Tells there is an even coverage of grass and it is also hard surface. Dasgupta says the wind will play a part and Hesson once again agrees and thinks the side which can defend the short boundaries might win. Tells there can be some spin in the second innings and scoring 185 or more can put run chase pressure. Deep Dasgupta ends by reminding us that it is a used surface as South Africa Women and New Zealand Women played on this surface.

India landed a couple of heavy punches in the first 2 T20Is and then the Kiwis tried doing something similar. They probably did too but the punches from India were a little too heavy and hence the hosts are looking at getting whitewashed in the 5-match series. India might once again make a few changes in this final game to test their bench strength while the Kiwis would hope to manage to bag at least one win to enter the ODI series with a bit of higher morale. Will India rest skipper Kohli? Will we see Williamson return to lead the side in the final game? Will Rishabh Pant get a game? Too many questions to answer. We will have the answers soon. Stay tuned with us as the Toss is not too far away.