IND vs NZ: Indian team suffers defeat in the fourth T20, Shivam Dube's efforts go in vain; series now stands at 3-1.

Posted on 29th Jan 2026 by rohit kumar

New Zealand defeated India by 50 runs in the fourth T20 match. This is the visitors' first win in the current series. Earlier, Team India had won the series by defeating New Zealand in the first three matches. In the match played in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday, New Zealand, after losing the toss and batting first, scored 215 runs for the loss of seven wickets in 20 overs, thanks to a half-century from Tim Seifert. In reply, the Indian team could only manage 165 runs in 18.4 overs and were all out. Shivam Dube played a powerful innings of 65 runs for them. After this match, the series now stands at 3-1.

 

 

New Zealand bowlers proved too strong for the Indian batsmen.

Chasing a target of 216 runs, the Indian team had a very poor start. Abhishek Sharma was dismissed on the very first ball of the innings, and immediately after, captain Suryakumar Yadav also returned to the pavilion cheaply. India came under pressure after these early setbacks. Rinku Singh and Sanju Samson then tried to stabilize the innings, but both batsmen failed to increase the run rate. Rinku was dismissed leg before wicket for 39 runs, while Samson was clean bowled for 24 runs. Hardik Pandya also could not contribute much, and India reached a score of 82/5 in 11 overs.

 

 

In this difficult situation, Shivam Dube held one end and batted aggressively. He kept the pressure on the bowlers and particularly revived the match by scoring 29 runs in one over against leg-spinner Ish Sodhi. Dube completed his half-century in just 15 balls and played a brilliant innings of 65 runs off 23 balls, which included seven sixes. During this time, he also got a life through DRS, which he fully utilized.

 

 

However, he did not get the expected support from the other end. There was a 63-run partnership for the sixth wicket with Harshit Rana, but Rana's contribution was limited. As soon as Dube was unfortunately run out, India's hopes also ended. The entire team was bowled out for 165 runs in 18.4 overs, and India suffered a 50-run defeat. Despite this loss, India still leads the series 3-1.

 

 

New Zealand's Innings

Earlier, the New Zealand team got off to an aggressive start. Openers Tim Seifert and Devon Conway put pressure on the Indian bowlers right from the beginning. Seifert adopted an aggressive approach in the very first overs of the innings and hit three consecutive fours in an over bowled by fast bowler Arshdeep Singh. He then played some excellent shots against Harshit Rana and Jasprit Bumrah as well. New Zealand completed 50 runs in just four overs and reached 71 runs without losing a wicket by the end of the powerplay.

 

 

Seifert played an explosive innings of 62 runs off 36 balls, which included seven fours and three sixes. At the other end, Conway played cautiously initially but later picked up the pace, hitting a four and a six in an over bowled by Ravi Bishnoi. The two shared a 100-run partnership for the first wicket. However, this partnership was broken by Kuldeep Yadav when Conway was dismissed for 44 runs. After this, the Indian bowlers made a comeback in the middle overs and took wickets at regular intervals, which caused New Zealand's innings to falter slightly.

 

 

Despite the fall of wickets in the middle order, Daryl Mitchell took responsibility in the final overs. He scored an unbeaten 39 runs off 18 balls and hit crucial sixes in the death overs to take the team past the 200-run mark. New Zealand scored 215 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in the stipulated 20 overs, setting a formidable target for India.