India vs New Zealand 3rd T20I Live Updates: For the third time in a row, India captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to bowl. The Men in Blue made no change to their playing XI, and hence Vaibhav Sooryavanshi retained his place at No.3. India are in touching distance of yet another T20I series win, and Shreyas Iyer’s men just need to win the third match in Wellington to gain an unassailable lead in the five-match series against New Zealand. Ishan Kishan has yet to fully recover from his injury and was ruled out.
For New Zealand, Matt Henry will no longer play a part in the remainder of the series as his workload is being managed ahead of the ODI and Tests against India. This prompted New Zealand to make three changes to their playing XI for the third T20I.
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For New Zealand, Matt Henry will no longer play a part in the remainder of the series as his workload is being managed ahead of the ODI and Tests against India. This prompted New Zealand to make three changes to their playing XI for the third T20I.
Follow all the updates here:
Oct 27, 2026, 13:42:41 IST
Axar Patel rounds off his spell nicely, giving away just seven runs in the 14th over. Daryl Mitchell and Bevon Jacobs were more than happy to play him out. Axar finishes with figures of 1/36 from four overs.
New Zealand 142/3 in 14 overs.
Oct 27, 2026, 13:38:52 IST
Bevon Jacobs is quick off the blocks! Two back-to-back boundaries and he is up and running in Wellington. 12 runs off the Bhuvneshwar Kumar and New Zealand are maintaining the run rate of 10.
New Zealand 135/3 in 13 overs.
Oct 27, 2026, 13:34:48 IST
Axar Patel strikes! The in-form batter Glenn Phillips returns to the hut. Not a good outing for Phillips in his 100th T20I as he slams the ball straight to Axar. He walks back after scoring 17 off 14 balls.
New Zealand 123/3 in 12 overs.
Oct 27, 2026, 13:30:36 IST
FOUR! Straight as an arrow!
Nitish Kumar Reddy goes for the yorker and slightly misses his mark. Daryl Mitchell hits the ball straight as an arrow, and it evades the fielder, who was running in from long on. The next delivery then goes for a six and Reddy’s bowling figures are spoiled by the last two deliveries. 50 comes up for Mitchell
New Zealand 113/2 in 11 overs.
Oct 27, 2026, 13:24:36 IST
We have reached the halfway mark, and it’s time for the drinks break. New Zealand are 100/2 with Mitchell and Glenn Phillips in the middle. India need to rethink their plans on how to about their bowling plans on a venue where the square boundaries are quite short.
Oct 27, 2026, 13:17:30 IST
Nitish Kumar Reddy strikes!
Nitish Reddy shows how it’s done. He makes Finn Allen hit towards the longer boundary and is rewarded for showing the smarts. The dangerous batter walks back after scoring 40 off 25 deliveries.
New Zealand 90/2 in 8.3 overs.
Oct 27, 2026, 13:13:45 IST
This has gone a long way back in the stands. Prince Yadav digs one short, and Daryl Mitchell was up to the task. It’s raining sixes in Wellington. Eight sixes already between Allen and Mitchell. New Zealand are now flying. Mitchell moves to 38 off 18 balls.
New Zealand 86/1 in 7.4 overs.
Oct 27, 2026, 13:10:54 IST
Another dragged down delivery and Finn Allen just uses his brute force to send the ball sailing for a six over cover. 14 runs off the seventh over.
New Zealand 72/1 in 7 overs.
Oct 27, 2026, 13:08:26 IST
India are just not learning. Axar Patel now drops it short and Allen just rocks back and deposits the ball went into the stands. Another maximum. This is poor bowling.
New Zealand 66/1 in 6.3 overs.
Oct 27, 2026, 13:05:57 IST
FOUR! Mitchell goes after Arshdeep
Two boundaries to round off the powerplay. The fifth delivery of the sixth over is hit down the ground and the ball has enough to touch the ropes for a four. The next delivery, Arshdeep strays down leg and it evades a diving Sanju Samson for four leg byes.
NZ score 58/1 from the powerplay despite being 6/1 after 2 overs. Shows how quickly they can turn around. Also underlines the significance of Mitchell as one of the anchors and enforcers for New Zealand.
Oct 27, 2026, 13:01:42 IST
Arshdeep Singh is not bowling to the field. He goes short once again, and Daryl Mitchell makes full use of the short boundary square. The ball goes over the ropes for a six, and 50 comes up for the Kiwis.
Mitchell nearly takes out the security guy on the perimeter. Replays show the ball missed his head by a whisker. Can’t get closer than this. Mitchell looked almost shocked with relief.
New Zealand 50/1 in 5.1 overs.
Oct 27, 2026, 12:58:00 IST
That’s a biggie! Finn Allen makes the most of the short square boundary. Seam up, back of a length delivery from Prince Yadav and Allen has no problem in depositing the ball well into the stands.
New Zealand 42/1 in 4.3 overs.
Oct 27, 2026, 12:56:58 IST
12 runs off Arshdeep’s bowling
Finn Allen and Daryl Mitchell are getting a move on, and the duo take 12 runs of Arshdeep Singh’s second over. Two boundaries and New Zealand are slowly finding their mojo in Wellington.
New Zealand 34/1 in 4 overs.
Oct 27, 2026, 12:47:55 IST
Six to conclude the over!
A six to start the over and a six to end the over. Bhuvneshwar Kumar drops it short, and Allen has no problem in pulling the ball for a maximum. 16 runs off Bhuvi’s second over.
New Zealand 22/1
Oct 27, 2026, 12:44:42 IST
There it is! The first maximum of the game comes off Bhuvneshwar’s bowling. The back of a length delivery is hit straight down the ground, and the ball has enough to land beyond the ropes.
New Zealand 12/1 in 2.1 overs.
Oct 27, 2026, 12:43:26 IST
What a brilliant over from Arshdeep, and it ends with a let-off for Finn Allen. He played the ball straight to Axar, and a direct hit would have resulted in curtains for him. But the Kiwi opener somehow survives and lives to fight another day.
New Zealand 6/1 in 2 overs.
Oct 27, 2026, 12:39:34 IST
India are rewarded for being patient with the ball. The good line and lengths up top have resulted in an early wicket. Arshdeep Singh provides the first wicket for India as Tim Seifert walks back to the dugout after scoring two off six balls.
The ball moved away from Seifert and the batter just looked to slog it away, only to hand a simple catch to Axar Patel.
Oct 27, 2026, 12:36:18 IST
Tight over from Bhuvneshwar!
Bhuvneshwar Kumar starts off well. Shows his class, with both Tim Seifert and Finn Allen all at sea. Just four runs off the opening over. The ball is not coming onto the bat for now. Let’s see how Arshdeep Singh fares.
New Zealand 4/0
Oct 27, 2026, 12:31:47 IST
Finn Allen and Tim Seifert are the two openers out there in the middle. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has the ball in his hand. The crowd is still coming in, and the stadium isn’t fully packed yet.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar starts with a loosener and a wide gets us underway.
Oct 27, 2026, 12:25:25 IST
Time for national anthems
It’s time for the national anthems. India’s first and it will be followed by New Zealand’s. Just a matter of few minutes before things get underway in Wellington.
Oct 27, 2026, 12:22:00 IST
What did Shreyas say at the toss?
Shreyas said that adapting to the ground dimensions in Wellington will hold the key for his side. He also said that the players who are on the bench are mature enough to understand why they can’t make it to the playing XI.
“We are going to bowl. There are certain aspects we definitely need to keep improving. The dimensions and conditions are different, so the quicker we adapt, the better for us. A lot of players are pretty mature enough to understand when they are not starting. Same team for us,” said Shreyas.
Oct 27, 2026, 12:11:49 IST
New Zealand make three changes to their lineup, bringing in Matthew Fisher, Kyle Jamieson and Adam Milne in the place of Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson and Nathan Smith. The pace attack has been bolstered by the hosts. But first, they need to put a solid total on the board.
Here are the full lineups:
India: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav.
New Zealand: Tim Seifert(w), Finn Allen, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Bevon Jacobs, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Kyle Jamieson, Adam Milne, Jacob Duffy, Matthew Fisher.
Oct 27, 2026, 12:01:22 IST
India captain Shreyas Iyer wins the toss and opts to bowl. Third time in a row for him to win the flip of the coin. India field an unchanged XI and hence Sooryavanshi retains his place at No.3.
Oct 27, 2026, 11:59:01 IST
The boundaries are short square – 56 metres and 62 metres. The straight boundary is 84m hence the bowlers will be required to understand the dimensions and bowl accordingly. Tim Southee reckons that there would be some margin of error down the ground.
He asks the bowlers to be willing to be hit down the ground. “So I think being brave as a pace bowler and the spinners as well, trying to get targeted down the ground rather than square,” he said in his pitch report.
Oct 27, 2026, 11:46:30 IST
In the first two T20Is, India captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and eventually, the Men in Blue went on to win the games after opting to chase. The captain who wins the flip of the coin here is expected to choose to bowl once again. The toss coming up in 15 minutes.
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