Match overview
India beat New Zealand by 8 wickets at Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on 25 January 2026, completing the chase of 154 with only 2 wickets down. New Zealand's innings was undermined early: 3 wickets gone in the powerplay for 36 runs left them chasing the innings throughout. They recovered to 153/9 but that total was always short of what Barsapara typically produces. India's reply was immediate and decisive. Their powerplay brought 94 runs at the cost of 2 wickets, a figure nearly double the venue's powerplay average of 47. From there, the middle overs were a formality, yielding 61 runs without further loss. The result was effectively sealed before the tenth over of the chase.
JJ Bumrah took the Player of the Match award, his influence in the powerplay phase once again proving central to India's success. This was India's fourth win from their last five meetings with New Zealand in 2026, a sequence that has firmly established the hosts' control of this series.
Venue and conditions
Barsapara Cricket Stadium has a reputation that suits batting sides setting totals. Across 25 T20 matches at the ground, the average first-innings score sits at 188, with second-innings sides averaging 164. Chasing sides succeed here only 46 per cent of the time, which made India's toss decision to field first a calculated one: they backed their bowlers to hold New Zealand below a defendable mark and then relied on their top order to counter-attack.
The venue's powerplay average of 47 runs frames just how extraordinary India's 94-run powerplay was. That phase alone gave India the match. Death-overs cricket at Barsapara averages 39 runs, and New Zealand's death batting returned 41 for the loss of 4 wickets, broadly on trend but not enough to add the buffer their total needed. The pitch favoured aggression at the top of the order, and India exploited that fully.
Toss data is also telling here. Teams elect to field 73 per cent of the time at this ground on winning the toss, and India followed that pattern. The logic is consistent with conditions in the north-east of India: afternoon heat can assist seam movement early, with the surface generally flattening as an innings progresses.
How to watch
T20I matches involving India are broadcast in the UK on Sky Sports Cricket, with live streaming available through Sky Go and NOW TV for subscribers without a linear TV package. Start times typically fall in the late morning or early afternoon in the UK, given the five and a half hour offset from India Standard Time. Confirm the specific kick-off time on Sky's schedule ahead of each fixture in the series.
Recent form
New Zealand's form in 2026 against India reads: loss, loss, win, win, loss across their last five meetings. The two wins in that sequence came consecutively, briefly raising the prospect of a series shift, but India have responded with back-to-back victories since. New Zealand's only 2026 win in the last five came in Vizag, where they won by 50 runs, suggesting they are capable of producing strong performances but have been unable to sustain them across multiple matches.
India's corresponding record mirrors that sequence in reverse: win, win, loss, loss, win. The losses came in the same two matches, meaning this series has ebbed and flowed, but India have won the key moments. With 55 wins from 111 meetings across all formats, India's structural advantage in this rivalry remains intact, and the Guwahati result reinforces that. New Zealand will need their top order to fire from ball one if they are to challenge India in any remaining fixtures in this sequence.
