IND vs NZ 5th T20I: Samson under pressure at Greenfield

Home ground pressure and World Cup countdown

When Sanju Samson steps out onto the home ground of the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram tonight, he’ll be facing 40 runs from four innings. A haunting reality for the India first-choice wicketkeeper-batter as the T20 World Cup draws near, nine days away. Coming up against a packed house of Kerala fans who want their hometown hero to finally put his struggles behind him, this fifth T20I with New Zealand is essentially meaningless, but it has been given weight in the context of the T20 World Cup preparations, as the Men in Blue are counting on their settled opener getting his rhythm back. New Zealand bring Finn Allen, the BBL top scorer with 466 runs at a strike rate of 184, to the party.

Series numbers: Abhishek blazing, Samson struggling

India’s current number one ranked T20I opener, Abhishek Sharma, has absolutely decimated the bowling in this series, with his 152 runs coming at a scorching 271 strike rate, and at the opposite end of the spectrum, Samson has managed a meager 40 runs at a meager average of 10, with a string of 10, 6, 0, and 24. The game starts at 7:00 PM IST on Saturday, January 31st, 2026.

India’s selection dilemma and Samson’s opening role

Coming dashing out of nowhere, the selection dilemma in the Indian camp is still being grappled with, and when the BCCI selectors dropped Shubman Gill from the T20 World Cup squad because of his terrible form, they sort of thrust Samson into the number one spot, basically giving him the chance to make it his own.

Samson’s form arc and exposed weaknesses

Well-known for his mesmerizing performances against Bangladesh and South Africa in 2024, where he thumped three centuries, Samson had everyone believing he was an unstoppable force in T20 cricket. However, 2025 was a year he won’t want to remember, averaging just 20.18 in 15 T20Is, with 222 runs and a solitary half-century. His recent struggles have continued into 2026, and the technical problems have been brutally exposed by New Zealand’s attack. Mitchell Santner has dismissed him three times in three T20Is this series, and takes advantage of Samson’s tendency to linger in his crease. Devang Gandhi, a former India opener, was very blunt in his assessment of Samson’s predicament, suggesting he has both mental and technical issues, that make him a sitting duck for straight balls pitching around the middle stump. Looking at the Indian squad, it’s impossible to miss the struggles of Sanju Samson who was seen at the non-striker’s end in the fourth T20I, a rare thing he hadn’t done since July 2024.

Morne Morkel’s backing and one-knock belief

India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel still believes in Samson, saying he’s “just one knock away” from regaining his explosive form and that knock needs to come tonight.

Abhishek Sharma’s records and rapid rise

Abhishek Sharma is putting Samson in the shade, a 25-year-old left-hander who’s making waves in T20I cricket. He scored a 14-ball fifty in the third T20I at Guwati, the second fastest for any Indian, leaving Yuvraj Singh’s 12-ball feat against England in 2007 as the only one above him.

After just 2,898 balls, Abhishek became the fastest player in T20 cricket history to reach 5,000 runs and he is also the second fastest Indian to complete 1,000 T20I runs, after Virat Kohli. Coming running over off the heels of his 36th T20I, Abhishek has now scored a whopping 1,267 runs at an average of 38.39 and a strike rate of 195.22.

His partnership with Suryakumar Yadav in Guwati saw them chase down 154 in ten overs.

That’s the second-fastest chase of a 150 plus target in T20I history. They put on 102 runs in a blistering 40 balls, turning what would have been a close game into a crushing victory.

Finn Allen’s BBL power and New Zealand boost

The Black Caps don’t have much to celebrate in this series, but Finn Allen’s new arrival gives them a much-needed boost to their top order, a record 37 sixes in the BBL 2025-26 still resonating in everyone’s mind. The 26-year-old’s 466 runs in the BBL came at an eye-watering strike rate of 184 and earned him a spot in the tournament’s dream team.

Allen has fine-tuned his technique, as well as his game plan.

He developed a “stable base” last year in his Perth Scorchers campaign, and and went on to crush a 51-ball hundred against Melbourne Renegades, and we all know that’s the kind of explosive hitting that could leave India’s bowlers scrambling in Thiruvananthapuram.

New Zealand’s confidence, Tim Seifert’s threat

New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner will likely slot Finn in at the top, right next to Devon Conway. When facing the Black Caps, the New Zealand team is going to be looking to gain confidence for the T20 World Cup, and their 29-run thrashing of India in Vizag shows they can hold their own when their middle order gets going, and Tim Seifert‘s whirlwind 62 off just 36 balls in that match is an indication of the threat they pose.

Bumrah, Hardik and India’s pace backbone

Jasprit Bumrah has been the standout performer of the series with his incredible bowling, coming back with 3/17 in the last match and hitting Tim Seifert right off the park on the very first delivery, yanking out his off stump with a ball that changed direction at the last minute.

After a well-planned break, Bumrah missed the second T20I so he could rest his body for the World Cup. Coming from the likes of him, his stats are pretty impressive. He’s one of only three Indian pacers to claim 100 wickets in T20Is, alongside Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya, and his capability to deliver perfect yorkers and creating awkward bounces makes him the leader of the Indian attack in any conditions.

Hardik Pandya has been working in perfect harmony with Bumrah, grabbing wickets at regular intervals and adding value with the bat in the middle order, and showed off his heroics in the Guwahi match by taking 2/23 and snatching a one-handed catch to send Devon Conway back to the pavilion.

Greenfield venue trends and match conditions

The Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram has hosted four T20Is, with India winning three of them, their last two being a thrashing of Australia in ’23 where they posted a massive total and bowled South Africa out for just 106 back in ’22, and is generally a batsman’s paradise, as the 390/5 ODI against Sri Lanka here shows.

Teams batting second tend to do better here, so the captain will probably choose to bat first, and because night games can bring heavy dew, the ball can become slippery for the bowlers in the second half of the game,. The Indian team will be defending their title on home soil, and are carrying the weight of expectation with them, when the 2026 T20I World Cup rolls around.

Suryakumar milestone and India’s middle-order questions

Coming into this match, Suryakumar Yadav is just 33 runs away from becoming the 12th player in the world to score 3,000 T20I runs, and is on the back of two consecutive fifties. He’s shown us all the damage he can do, with his whirlwind 57 off just 26 balls in Guwahi still very much in the memory.

India still need to figure out their No. 4 Spot, and Rinku Singh has done a steady job with his 44 not out and 39 in his two innings here. Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan have both given themselves a run for the position, but it’s no certainty.

Head-to-head history and World Cup rivalry sting

Coming heading into this match, India and New Zealand have faced off 25 times in the T20I format, and the Indians hold a 14-10 advantage, with one tied game in between. And on home soil, the picture is even rosier, and this match is another chance for the Indians to extend that record.

Memorable, and often spectacular, the rivalry between these two teams has produced some of the best games of cricket at the World Cup level. New Zealand had last beaten India in the 2021 T20 World Cup in Dubai, by an imposing eight wickets margin, which stings to this day, will haunt the memories of the Indian fans. They are looking forward to another meeting with New Zealand, when the tournament kicks off, on February 7th in India and Sri Lanka, and see tonight’s final series fixture as the last opportunity to fine tune.

Spin battle, Sodhi chase, India’s options

New Zealand have found batting has been one of their biggest problems so far in this series, and it’s hard to say where they’re heading.

The usually consistent Rachin Ravindra is struggling to get going, and Devon Conway’s getting out too cheaply. India would love their reserve players to nail their places and get confidence, before the spotlight starts to cut through.

Ish Sodhi is just two wickets behind Tim Southee’s New Zealand T20I record of 164 wickets, and, apart from some tidy bowling, hasn’t really made a massive dent in the series, but his knowledge of the local conditions will be gold dust come the World Cup. Looking at the Indian bowling lineup, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravi Bishnoi all got a chance to test out different lineups. Coming heading into the scene in Guwahi, Bishnoi’s impressive 2/18 completely took the wind out of New Zealand’s sails, and didn’t let their batsmen get going.

Kuldeep’s unusual left-arm wrist spin adds a lot of variety to India’s attack, but wasn’t exactly firing on all cylinders in that Guwahi match. Chinaman bowler Avesh Khan is still a secret weapon for the big World Cup matches. His ability to spin the ball sharply on Indian surfaces makes him a nightmare for any opposition.

New Zealand rely heavily on their spin department, specifically Santner and Michael Bracewell, but so far Santner has been their standout performer, sending Samson packing three times and strangling the game in the middle overs, and his cunning ability to find turn and change his pace has given India’s middle order the runaround.

Probable XIs for the next game

Probable XIs for the next game see India sticking with their winning formula but giving Samson another chance to score at his home ground. Abhishek Sharma and Samson will likely open, and if Ishan Kishan has shaken off his niggles, he could drop into the middle order. The rest of the batting lineup will be Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, and Rinku Singh.

India’s fast bowlers will be Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana, with two spinners filling out the side, although the availability of Axar Patel is still up in the air after being hit in a previous match.

New Zealand’s expected XI is Finn Allen, Devon Conway (wk), Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner (c), Zak Foulkes, Michael Bracewell, Kyle Jamieson, Jacob Duffy. Matt Henry might be given a rest for the World Cup, which would let Kyle Jamieson run with the brand-new ball.

Final stakes: form, milestones, and series edge

Well-known issues with Samson are still affecting him, as he’s managed just 40 runs in four innings, at a meager average of 10, and the T20 World Cup is now just nine days away. Abhishek Sharma on the other hand has been in top form, piling up 152 runs at a strike rate of 271, including the second-fastest Indian T20I fifty, done in a mere fourteen balls.

And Finn Allen, the top scorer in the BBL with 466 runs at a breathtaking 184.18, has joined New Zealand for the series finale. His 3/17 in Guwahi stood out, when Jasprit Bumrah took 4 wickets in 2 matches for India.

Well-known for being down to the wire, India’s 11th consecutive T20I series win and a 4-1 series triumph in their hands, all they need is a victory tonight.

The story of the match is being overshadowed by KL Samson’s fate in the World Cup, coming hurrying back to his home ground in Kerala, where the passionate crowd will be cheering for him, but won’t fix the technical problems exposed by the New Zealand bowlers.

India’s deep batting line-up can handle Samson’s rough patches, but it isn’t perfect, and shipping a struggling opener into a World Cup defence is never ideal. The defending champions are looking for answers to their questions, wanting their opener firing, their captain crossing milestones, and their fast bowlers tweaked up for the biggest stage.

You can bet that Samson will have to change his game plan, otherwise, he’ll be running on a familiar road to failure.