India vs New Zealand 5th T20I Live score: Santner breaks toss jinx, asks India to bat; Bhuvneshwar returns

India vs New Zealand 5th T20I Live score: Follow Live updates of the series finale in Hamilton.

Shreyas Iyer of India and Mitchell Santner Captain of New Zealand (Surjeet Yadav / CREIMAS for BCCI)

India vs New Zealand 5th T20I Live score: The series has reached its finale, with just a one-day gap between the fourth and fifth T20Is. India had already sealed the series by winning the opening three games, but New Zealand pulled one back at Eden Park, where India stumbled in the chase. The visitors are unlikely to dwell on the defeat, with Shreyas Iyer calling it a "learning curve", but they will be eager to finish the series on a high.

Follow all the updates here:

• 1 Nov 2026, 12:13:05 PM IST

  Both teams make changes

  India make two changes - Varun Chakaravarthy and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are back, while New Zealand have Tickner back in the XI.

  New Zealand (Playing XI): Tim Seifert(w), Finn Allen, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Bevon Jacobs, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner(c), Nathan Smith, Adam Milne, Jacob Duffy, Blair Tickner

  India (Playing XI): Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy

• 1 Nov 2026, 12:03:51 PM IST

  India wanted to bat first as well

  Iyer admits that Santner's toss call wasn't a surprise to them. They wanted to bat as well, having chased in all the previous four games

• 1 Nov 2026, 12:02:31 PM IST

  Toss time!

  Surprise, surprise. Santner has finally won the toss, and he has a big smile on his face. He looks at Iyer and he can't stop laughing.

  What does he choose? “We will bowl first,” he says. So India, for the first time in this series, will bat first

• 1 Nov 2026, 11:59:50 AM IST

  Seddon Park facts

  The venue has hosted 14 completed T20Is till date, with teams batting first winning eight of the matches. India played here just twice before. They lost the 2019 tie by four runs batting second, but game the second game in 2020 via Super Over.

• 1 Nov 2026, 11:34:39 AM IST

  Will New Zealand make any changes?

  Unlikely. They have changed the bowling line-up on a few occasions -- Lockie Ferguson and Matt Henry are injured, and Kyle Jamieson joining the side. However, with the hosts snapping their losing streak on Friday, they are more likely to stick with the combination.

• 1 Nov 2026, 11:22:06 AM IST

  What changes could India make?

  Sooryavanshi played two matches in the series in place of injured Ishan Kishan and impressed in his second appearance. However, he was back on the bench as Ishan returned in the 4th T20I. Fans will be hoping to get another glimpse of the Sooryavanshi show that had taken over Wellington last week.

  Bhuvneshwar Kumar, benched on Friday, could be back in place of Arshdeep Singh, who can be rested ahead of the ODI series against New Zealand, which will start on Wednesday.

• 1 Nov 2026, 11:15:30 AM IST

  Should India bat first today?

  Shreyas Iyer has won the toss in all four matches so far and opted to bowl first each time. Even in Friday's fourth T20I in Auckland, with the series already sealed, India chose to chase rather than use the opportunity to test their ability to defend a total. Given the experimentation throughout the series, batting first and setting a target could be one box India would want to tick before the series wraps up.

• 1 Nov 2026, 11:04:08 AM IST

  What happened in the previous match

  This was the first time India lost a game in this series batting second. The bowlers struggled, allowing Glenn Phillips and Michael Bracewell to capitalise on it. New Zealand set a target of 260. India lost two wickets in the first over of the chase and never recovered. Midway through the innings, India lost half their side and eventually succumbed to an 87-run loss.

• 1 Nov 2026, 10:54:28 AM IST

  The series so far...

  1st T20I, Christchurch: India (230/6 in 19.4 overs) beat New Zealand (225/4) by 4 wickets

  2nd T20I, Christchurch: India (181/6 in 19.5 overs) beat New Zealand (180/5) by 4 wickets

  3rd T20I, Wellington: India (199/4 in 13.2 overs) beat New Zealand (198/3) by 6 wickets

  4th T20I, Auckland: India (172/9 in 20 overs) lost to New Zealand (259/7) by 87 runs

• 1 Nov 2026, 10:42:57 AM IST

  What do the squads look like for the two teams

  India Squad: Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Shivam Dube, Varun Chakaravarthy, Auqib Nabi, Kumar Kushagra, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

  New Zealand Squad: Tim Seifert(w), Finn Allen, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Bevon Jacobs, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner(c), Nathan Smith, Adam Milne, Jacob Duffy, Matthew Fisher, Kyle Jamieson, Devon Conway, Josh Clarkson, Blair Tickner

• 1 Nov 2026, 10:33:36 AM IST

  Welcome!

  Hello and welcome to the Live coverage of the fifth T20I between India and New Zealand. Stay tuned for more updates!