Updated February 1st 2026, 07:30 IST

T20 World Cup 2026: Ishan Kishan lit up the Greenfield stadium with his majestic strokeplay on Saturday during the fifth and final T20I against New Zealand. Kishan went onto bring up his maiden T20I ton as he scored 103 off 43 balls. His knock was laced with 10 sixes and six fours. And while Kishan fared well, it was heartbreak for Sanju Samson on his home venue. All Samson could score was six off six balls. He seemed to be struggling in the middle and now his T20 World Cup spot is in trouble.
It was just not a one-off, as Kishan had scored a fiery 32-ball 76 earlier in the series.
Samson may be higher-up in the pecking order at the moment, but one can surely not ignore Kishan's surreal form. The left-hander has shown some terrific form and now Samson could actually miss out being in the playing XI at the T20 WC.
Kishan also kept wickets, giving a clear idea of how the team management is thinking.
“I think both the keepers were playing since game one, as Tilak [Varma] was not available," Suryakumar said after the emphatic win.
“So, we had decided before the series that three games will be kept by Sanju Samson and two games will be kept by Ishan. Ishan unfortunately missed the last game because of a niggle but he was anyway going to keep wickets in this match," he added.
Team India is in red-hot form and would start the marquee event as the overwhelming favourite. It would be interesting to see who eventually keeps wickets and is going the make the XI. The thinktank is certainly going to have sleepless nights over Kishan and Samson.
Published February 1st 2026, 07:24 IST