The fifth and last match of the ongoing five-match T20 series between India and New Zealand will be played on January 31 (Saturday) in Thiruvananthapuram. Earlier, Team India had to face defeat in the fourth match of the series. In such a situation, Team India, captained by Suryakumar Yadav, would like to end the series by winning the fifth match. Suryakumar Yadav can make changes in the playing 11 to win. A total of two changes can be seen in the team including Sanju Samson.

Will Sanju Samson be cut?

See, Sanju Samson has been made a part of the playing 11 in all four T20s so far. In the first three matches, Sanju could score only 10, 06 and 00 runs respectively. Despite this, he was given a chance in the fourth match. However, Sanju could not live up to the expectations even in the fourth match. He returned to the pavilion after scoring only 24 runs. Now it seems almost certain that Sanju will be out of the eleven from the fifth match.

In place of Sanju, Ishan Kishan can be included in the team in T20 in Thiruvananthapuram. Ishaan, who was in excellent form, had to sit on the bench due to a minor injury. However, Ishaan was seen running on the field during the drinks break in the middle of the match, which shows that his return in the last match is almost certain. Ishaan, who flopped in the first match, played a brilliant inning of 76 runs in the second T20. Then in the third match he scored 28 runs.

Varun Chakraborty may also return

Varun Chakraborty was seen playing in the first 2 T20s. Then in the third and fourth he was seen warming the bench. Now in the fifth match, he can be included in the playing 11 in place of Kuldeep Yadav or Ravi Bishnoi.

India’s probable playing 11 for the fifth T20

Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dubey, Harshit Rana, Ravi Bishnoi/Varun Chakraborty, Kuldeep Yadav/Varun Chakraborty, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah.

Indian Team, Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple: The fifth and last match of the five-match T20 series being played between India and New Zealand will be played on January 31 (Saturday) at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. But before this match, all the players of Team India reached Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple located in Thiruvananthapuram. Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav was also included in the list of players who reached the temple.

The video of the players reaching the temple surfaced. It can be seen in the video that the players also wore traditional attire for darshan. Spinner Varun Chakraborty, captain Suryakumar Yadav, finisher Rinku Singh, chinaman spinner Kuldeep Yadav, spinner Ravi Bishnoi, all-rounder Akshar Patel and fielding coach T Dilip were seen in the video.

After winning the series, Team India lost the fourth T20.

Let us tell you that Men in Blue had captured the series by winning the first 3 T20s played against New Zealand in Nagpur, Raipur and Guwahati. After this, in the fourth match played in Visakhapatnam, Team India had to face defeat by 50 runs.

VIDEO | Kerala: Indian cricket team players don traditional attire to offer prayers at Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple.

(Full video available on PTI Videos – https://t.co/n147TvrpG7)#Kerala pic.twitter.com/wv4FLmtBJQ

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 30, 2026

Team India would like to end the series with victory

After losing the fourth match, the Indian team would like to win the last T20 and end the series 4-1. Now it will be interesting to see how Surya Brigade performs in the fifth match. This is the last T20 series for India before the upcoming T20 World Cup. In such a situation, Team India would definitely like to finalize its preparations by winning the last match.

There was defeat in the ODI series

It is worth noting that before the T20, Team India had to face defeat in the ODI series played against New Zealand. The Kiwi team had won 2-1 in the 50 over series. Although Team India started the series by winning the first match. Then New Zealand won the remaining two ODIs and won the series.