New Zealand wins the 5th T20 by 7 wickets but India wins the series 3-2

HAMILTON, New Zealand (AP) — Tim Seifert made 93 from 50 balls and Glenn Phillips passed 50 for the fourth time in the series Sunday as New Zealand beat India by seven wickets in the fifth and final T20 international.

India won the series 3-2.

Seifert and Phillips put on 86 for the third wicket as New Zealand ran down India's total of 191-8 with two overs in hand.

Ishan Kishan made 61 from 32 balls and captain Shreyas Iyer 50 from 23 to put India in a strong position at the midpoint of its innings, but later batters added only 80 runs in the last 10 overs.

Seifert seemed bound for his maiden T20 international century when he chopped a ball from Nitish Kumar Reddy onto his stumps with 24 runs needed for victory.

Phillips had been happy to play in Seifert's shadow but when his partner was out, he stepped up and finished unbeaten on 65 from 38 balls as New Zealand won convincingly.

Phillips' 341 runs in the series included a century and three half-centuries and was a record for a five-match bilateral series.

“The calmness and composure I've had is a nice feeling,” Phillips said. “I tried to go out there with a clear mind and play every ball on its merits and try to go out there and be a little more of the hunter and a little less of the prey.”

India failed to fully capitalize on the superb partnership between Kishan and Iyer that repaired the India innings after the loss of openers Abishek Sharma (1) and Sanju Samson (4), who both fell to Adam Milne inside the first four overs.

Kishan and Iyer added 93 from 43 balls for the third wicket, putting India in a powerful position at 111-2 after 10 overs.

The pair preyed particularly on spinners Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell, taking 27 runs from Bracewell in the 10th over. Santner was making his 143rd T20 appearance, a record for New Zealand.

Kishan reached his half-century from 28 balls with four fours and four sixes, while Iyer's first half-century of the series came from only 22 deliveries with four sixes and three fours.

Both players were aided by New Zealand's poor catching and fielding.

Kishan fell in the 11th over, hoisting a ball from pacer Blair Tickner directly to mid-wicket and Iyer followed in the next over, top-edging a pull shot to wicketkeeper Tim Seifert.

India's scoring rate slowed as it slipped to 133-5 but Naman Dhir and Nitish Kumar Reddy enlivened proceedings again, sharing 46 runs from 30 balls for the sixth wicket.

Milne was superb, taking 4-19 from his four overs while Bracewell conceded 38 runs for just two overs.

The teams meet in the first match of a five-match one-day series at Auckland on Wednesday.

See AP’s full cricket coverage here

New Zealand's Tim Seifert bats during the T20 cricket international between New Zealand and India in Hamilton, New Zealand, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (Andrew Cornaga/Photosport via AP)

New Zealand's Glenn Phillips watches his shot during the T20 cricket international between New Zealand and India in Hamilton, New Zealand, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (Andrew Cornaga/Photosport via AP)

New Zealand's Glenn Phillips celebrates his fifty during the T20 cricket international between New Zealand and India in Hamilton, New Zealand, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (DJ Mills/Photosport via AP)

New Zealand's Glenn Phillips bats during the T20 cricket international between New Zealand and India in Hamilton, New Zealand, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (Andrew Cornaga/Photosport via AP)

India's Nitish Kumar Reddy bats during the T20 cricket international between New Zealand and India in Hamilton, New Zealand, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (Andrew Cornaga/Photosport via AP)

Ishan Kishan of India bats during the T20 cricket international between New Zealand and India in Hamilton, New Zealand, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (DJ Mills/Photosport via AP)

India's Ishan Kishan celebrates his fifty during the T20 cricket international between New Zealand and India in Hamilton, New Zealand, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (DJ Mills/Photosport via AP)

Fans cheer during the T20 cricket international between New Zealand and India in Hamilton, New Zealand, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (Andrew Cornaga/Photosport via AP)

India's Prince Yadav, centre, celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of New Zealand's Bevon Jacobs during the T20 cricket international between New Zealand and India in Auckland, New Zealand, Friday, Oct. 30, 2026. (Andrew Cornaga/Photosport via AP)

New Zealand's Glenn Phillips celebrates his century during the T20 cricket international between New Zealand and India in Auckland, New Zealand, Friday, Oct. 30, 2026. (Andrew Cornaga/Photosport via AP)

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s opposition parties on Sunday renewed calls for the resignation of the country’s election chief, staging fresh protests in the latest display of public dissent against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.

The protest, called by opposition bloc INDIA, drew tens of thousands of demonstrators, some carrying musical instruments and waving various flags, as they chanted slogans against the policies of the central government. Several opposition parties of the alliance, formed in 2023 to unseat Modi, mobilized their cadres from different states for the protest, which comes weeks after a police crackdown on protesters in New Delhi.

Led by Rahul Gandhi, leader of the main opposition Congress party, and backed by the youth “Cockroach” movement, the protesters called for the safeguarding of India’s democracy while demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over a contentious voter roll revision.

The protesters gathered at Ramlila Maidan, a sprawling public square in New Delhi, after police last month withdrew Jantar Mantar from the list of officially designated venues for demonstrations. The historic observatory had long served as the capital’s main protest site.

Authorities deployed thousands of police and paramilitary soldiers and mounted extensive surveillance, with more than 200 CCTV cameras, drones and body-worn cameras at the venue and along the protest route, officials said.

The ongoing review of voter lists has removed more than 130 million names since last year. Critics say the exercise is politically motivated, threatens to disenfranchise millions more, and has disproportionately affected minorities, particularly Muslims.

The Election Commission and Modi’s administration deny the allegations and say the revision is intended to remove duplicate and ineligible entries.

Human Rights Watch on Thursday said the accusations over the voter roll revision raise “serious questions about the fairness of future Indian elections.”

“The authorities should immediately scrap the voter roll revision process that has denied India’s most marginalized people their right to vote and other government services,” said Elaine Pearson, the group’s Asia director, in a statement.

The call for Kumar’s resignation has for weeks been a rallying cry for opposition parties and supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party seeking to challenge Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP. Opposition parties, mainly the Congress, say the ruling BJP has undertaken systemic manipulation of the electoral process, accusing the party of “vote chori”, or vote theft.

Modi has not publicly commented on the protests. Some of his party leaders have dismissed the demonstrators as “anarchists” and suggested, without offering evidence, that they are backed by foreign powers.

In July, protests led by the youth “cockroach” movement forced the resignation of Modi’s education minister, a rare setback for Modi, who has been in power for more than 12 years. The movement began as an online satirical campaign this summer after India’s chief justice compared unemployed young people to parasites.

Suresh Sharma, a protester from northern Haryana state, said the country’s system needed reform as democracy was being throttled.

The process of voter roll revision needs to be scrapped, Sharma said, adding: “We demand that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resign and be arrested.”

Protesters take a break during a rally called by the Congress party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

A poster showing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is carried during a protest called by the Congress party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls in New Delhi, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

India's opposition Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi, center, in a vehicle with other opposition leaders, greets supporters during a protest called by his party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Prabhat Mehrotra)

A banner displaying a portrait of India's election chief Gyanesh Kumar is visible during a protest called by the Congress party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

India's opposition Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi, standing at right in the first vehicle with other opposition leaders, waves at the supporters during a protest called by his party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls in New Delhi, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Vipin)

People shout slogans at a protest called by the Congress party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls begins in New Delhi, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

People shout slogans at a protest called by the Congress party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls begins in New Delhi, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Security personnel keep watch as a protest called by the Congress party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls begins in New Delhi, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Protesters in traditional costumes wait to start a march called by the Congress party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls in New Delhi, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

People shout slogans at a protest called by the Congress party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls begins in New Delhi, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)