India vs New Zealand 3rd T20I: Full List of Award Winners, Player of the Series, Stats,Post-Match Presentation

Napier, Nov 22: Rain played spoilsport in what could have been an interesting run chase and the third and final T20I between India and New Zealand was called off but it ended in a tie. The play was stopped when India had posted 75/4 in 9 over in pursuit of 161 as the skies opened up. As it was a par DLS score the winner of the game couldn't be decided.

As no play was possible due to incessant rain, the match was called off but Hardik Pandya-led Indian side won the series 1-0.

For India, it was their skipper Hardik - who was the top-scorer (30* off 18 balls) and kept his team in the hunt as the top four batters departed cheaply.

Rishabh Pant (11), Ishan Kishan (11), Shreyas Iyer (0) and Suryakumar Yadav (13) failed with the bat in Napier but Hardik ensured the team was at par with the DLS total.

Earlier in the day, the pacers duo of Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj helped India bowl out New Zealand to 160. Both the seamers picked up four wickets each and it was their clinical effort in the death overs which triggered a batting collapse for New Zealand.

Devon Conway (59) and Glenn Phillips (54) shared a stand of 86 runs for the third wicket and laid the foundation for a big total for the Blackcaps, but the batting collapse, in the end, meant they could only set a target of 161 for India to chase.

Siraj won the player of the match while Yadav was named the player of the series for his imperious ton in the second T20I.

Indians won the series 1-0 and they'll now look to start the ODI series on a dominant note under the captaincy of Shikhar Dhawan.

Here are the Post-Match Comments and award winners from the match and series:

Player of the Match

Mohammed Siraj (4/17): The wicket wasn't easy to bat and I was prepared to bowl hard lengths which gave me the rewards. I prepared myself to bowl hard lengths and had so much practice during World Cup and I just executed my plans. I always keep it simple. Just bowl the hard lengths. The weather is not in our hands, happy with the series win.

Player of the Series

Suryakumar Yadav (124 runs in 2 innings): Really happy with the way things have gone till now, would have loved a full game here but as Siraj said the weather is not in our hands. The pressure is always there and at the same time, I'm enjoying my batting, just going there and expressing myself. Not carrying any baggage out there. The intent and approach will remain the same. We can just go out and express ourselves, would have loved a full game, but that's fine.

New Zealand skipper

Tim Southee: It was disappointing even with the bat. We spoke about getting out there and giving everything we could, (is) take early wickets. We knew if we can get those wickets, anything could happen, but unfortunately, the weather came in. You don't know until both sides batted on it, would have been an interesting game but hasn't gone the full tilt.

A little bit of uncertainty around the scoreboard about whether it was a tie when the rain came in. Could have gone either way, the way we attacked with the ball and put them under pressure was pleasing. Nice to be back in some ODI cricket against a quality side like India. Hoping for a good crowd in Auckland.

India Captain

Hardik Pandya: Would have liked to win the game by playing the full overs, but it is what it is. At some point, I felt attack is the best defence on this wicket. We know the kind of bowling attacks they have, it was very important to get those 10-15 runs extra even though we lost a couple of wickets.

A game like this could have given us an opportunity to test some of the players, but having said that, the weather is something we cannot control. I'm going back home, taking my time off and be with my son.