India have done something no touring side had managed in New Zealand for seven years: win a bilateral ODI series there. Bowled out for 209 in 42.1 overs at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Sunday, Shreyas Iyer’s side squeezed the hosts to 187 in 48.1 overs to win the fifth and final ODI by 22 runs and take the series 3-1. Arshdeep Singh, who took 3 for 30 from his ten overs and smashed two sixes in a four-ball 14 at No. 11, was named Player of the Match.
The result also ended a remarkable run for New Zealand, who had won 11 bilateral ODI series in a row at home since India last beat them on their own soil in early 2019. Had the Black Caps chased this down, the series would have finished level at 2-2. Instead, Gautam Gambhir has his first away ODI series win as India’s head coach, and his squad heads into the Test leg with real momentum.
How India’s batting nearly cost them
Mitchell Santner won the toss and bowled, and for the first hour it looked a sound call. The top order folded again. Rohit Sharma made 7 and Virat Kohli 5, another cheap outing for both senior batters, and when Ruturaj Gaikwad fell for 18 India were 34 for 3 inside the first powerplay. Iyer steadied things briefly with 22 off 26 before he too went, leaving India 86 for 4.
The recovery came from two unlikely sources batting at similar tempo. Axar Patel made 46 off 55 balls and Ishan Kishan 46 off 58, and between them they dragged India into a position where 230 or 240 looked possible. Naman Dhir added 22 and put on 39 with Kishan for the sixth wicket. Then the innings fell apart again. Santner and Jacob Duffy, who finished with 3 for 47 and 3 for 60 respectively, cleaned up the middle and lower order, and at 183 for 9 India looked well short.
That is when the last pair changed the shape of the afternoon. Mohammed Siraj played the anchor, finishing 14 not out off 20 balls, while Arshdeep swung hard and cleared the rope twice. The pair added 26 for the tenth wicket, and those runs turned out to be bigger than the final margin. In a low-scoring decider, a last-wicket stand is rarely just a footnote.
Arshdeep and Siraj set the tone with the new ball
Defending 209 on a ground where scoring is usually brisk, India needed early wickets and got them. Siraj removed Tim Seifert for 14 in the sixth over with New Zealand on 26, and later got rid of Finn Allen for 1, ending with 2 for 50. Arshdeep was the more economical of the two and the more dangerous. He bowled his full quota of ten overs for just 30 runs, conceded little width and removed Will Young and Nick Kelly just as the pair were starting to settle.
The New Zealand top order never broke free. Young made 22 and Kelly 24, both off more than 40 balls, and the required rate kept creeping up while India’s seamers held their lines. That slow middle passage is where the match was decided, more than in any single spell. When a chase of 210 drifts along at four an over, one more wicket is all it takes to make the target feel twice the size.
Iyer’s bowling changes and the spinners’ squeeze
Iyer drew praise for an unusual call: he held his spinners back until the 36th over, trusting his seamers to keep things tight as the floodlights took over. Dean Foxcroft, New Zealand’s top scorer with 31 off 42, looked the most fluent batter on either side before debutant Yash Thakur bowled him, the young seamer’s first wicket in international cricket. Michael Bracewell made 19, and Auqib Nabi also chipped in with a wicket.
Santner, who made 24 off 31 balls, and Kristian Clarke then rebuilt, and New Zealand reached 155 for 6 after 40 overs, needing 55 from the last ten. It was gettable. Dhir picked up a wicket with his part-time spin, Arshdeep returned to remove Clarke for 16, and Axar finished the job in the 49th over by taking the last two wickets, Duffy for 9 and Blair Tickner for 14. Axar’s 2 for 28 rounded off a strong all-round day.
With the Test series only days away and India having already released Brar to prepare for it, this became a match decided by depth and nerve rather than star power. India’s bench answered the question better.
Gurnoor Brar named Player of the Series
The series award went to fast bowler Gurnoor Brar, who took nine wickets before leaving the ODI squad early to get ready for the Test series. That detail tells you plenty about how highly the selectors now rate him. As CricBat reported earlier, Brar has earned a maiden Test call-up for the New Zealand series, with Kuldeep Yadav released from the Test squad.
The series itself was a stop-start affair. India won the first two matches, the third ODI was washed out by rain, and New Zealand hit back in the fourth game at Mount Maunganui to keep the series alive. That defeat made Sunday’s recovery more impressive. A side that had just lost on the same ground found a way to win with only 209 on the board.
What the 3-1 win means for India
India’s previous bilateral ODI series win in New Zealand came in 2019, and in the seven years since then the hosts had beaten every visiting team that came for a one-day series. Ending that streak, for a coach still building his away record, matters. Our view: the batting remains a worry. Being three down inside the powerplay in back-to-back games is not a habit a team can carry into a World Cup cycle, and the Rohit and Kohli question will not go away after scores of 7 and 5.
But the bowling depth is a genuine positive. Arshdeep, Siraj, Brar, Nabi and Thakur give India seam options of different styles, and Axar’s control in the middle and end overs was a reminder of how much balance he brings.
What happens next: the Test series
The tour now switches to red-ball cricket. The first Test starts at the Basin Reserve in Wellington on 19 November, with play due to begin at 3:30 am IST, and the second Test follows at Christchurch from 27 November. Our NZ vs IND 1st Test preview covers the squads, probable XIs and the Basin Reserve pitch.
Quick facts: NZ vs IND 5th ODI
- Result: India won by 22 runs; series won 3-1
- Venue: Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui, 15 November 2026
- Scores: India 209 all out (42.1 overs); New Zealand 187 all out (48.1 overs)
- Top scorers: Axar Patel 46, Ishan Kishan 46; Dean Foxcroft 31 for NZ
- Best bowling: Arshdeep Singh 3/30; Mitchell Santner 3/47; Jacob Duffy 3/60
- Player of the Match: Arshdeep Singh
- Player of the Series: Gurnoor Brar (9 wickets)
FAQ
Who won the 5th ODI between India and New Zealand?
India won by 22 runs at Bay Oval, defending 209 by bowling New Zealand out for 187.
What was the final series score?
India won the five-match ODI series 3-1. The third match was washed out by rain.
When does the India vs New Zealand Test series start?
The first Test begins on 19 November in Wellington (3:30 am IST), and the second starts on 27 November in Christchurch.
Featured image: Storm machine / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
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