India Defeats New Zealand in T20 Series Despite Final Match Loss

India won the five-match Twenty20 international series against New Zealand three to two on Sunday in Hamilton despite suffering a seven-wicket defeat in the final match at Seddon Park.

New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner won the toss and elected to bowl, after which Adam Milne claimed 4-19 to restrict India to 191-8 in 20 overs.

The result capped a dominant series campaign for India, which had already secured an unassailable lead by winning the first three encounters.

Ahead of the fixture, India head coach Gautam Gambhir defended his team selection after leaving 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi out of the playing eleven.

"First of all, my job is not to make everyone happy," Gambhir said.

"My job is to take the right decisions, not the popular decisions. And that is what I'm there for."

After losing early wickets, Ishan Kishan and captain Shreyas Iyer rescued the innings with a 93-run partnership for the third wicket.

Kishan scored 61 runs from 32 balls, while Iyer contributed 50 runs from 23 deliveries before both batsmen were dismissed.

Naman Dhir added 33 runs and Nitish Kumar Reddy made 22 runs to push India toward the 200-run mark before the innings concluded.

In response, Tim Seifert led New Zealand's run chase with 93 runs from 50 balls before chopping a delivery onto his stumps.

Glenn Phillips finished unbeaten on 65 runs from 38 balls to guide the hosts home with two overs to spare.

"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."

The teams will meet next in the opening match of a five-match one-day series in Auckland on Wednesday.