Tim Seifert’s series against India was a tale of two halves. He was out for 24, 7, 2 and 3 in the first four T20Is, then made 93 off 50 balls at Seddon Park, Hamilton, on Sunday 1 November, falling seven short of what would have been his first T20 international century as New Zealand chased 192 with two overs to spare. India still won the series 3–2. This piece looks at what the five scorecards say about Seifert’s role, what changed in Hamilton, and what is worth checking about an opener who can swing from a quiet series to a loud night.
What the scorecards confirm
Seifert opened alongside Finn Allen in the first match in Christchurch and made 24 off 17 balls, with three fours and a six, before nicking Mayank Yadav to the keeper at 49/1 in the fifth over. A match report that day noted the pair’s record: 890 runs in 20 innings together at an average of 46.84 and a run rate of 11.28 per over, with five stands of 50 or more and two of 100 or more. The same report said no pair with at least 15 opening innings in men’s T20Is has scored faster as a partnership. Those are numbers quoted in that report and we have not checked them against a database.
After that the runs dried up. He made 7 in the second match (caught off Arshdeep Singh, New Zealand 9/1), 2 in Wellington (caught off Arshdeep again; the first wicket fell at 4) and 3 in Auckland (the first wicket fell at 5). The scoreboards do not name who fell at each score, but our reading of the batting orders and fall-of-wickets lists is that Seifert was also the first wicket in those three matches. New Zealand lost their first wicket within the first five overs of each of the four matches, and in three of them before the score reached 10.
| Match | Seifert | How out | NZ first wicket | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st T20I, Christchurch, 22 Oct | 24 (17) | c Samson b Mayank Yadav | 49 | India by 4 wickets |
| 2nd T20I, Christchurch, 24 Oct | 7 | c Tilak Varma b Arshdeep Singh | 9 | India by 4 wickets |
| 3rd T20I, Wellington, 27 Oct | 2 | c Axar Patel b Arshdeep Singh | 4 | India by 6 wickets |
| 4th T20I, Auckland, 30 Oct | 3 | c Prince Yadav b Yadav (first name not given) | 5 | New Zealand by 87 runs |
| 5th T20I, Hamilton, 1 Nov | 93 (50) | b Nitish Kumar Reddy | Allen fell first; 59/1 after the powerplay | New Zealand by 7 wickets |
The arithmetic is simple: 24 + 7 + 2 + 3 + 93 = 129 runs in five innings with no not-outs, an average of 25.8. Strip out Hamilton and it is 36 runs in four innings, an average of 9.0. The balls faced are published only for the first and fifth matches, so we calculate strike rates for those two only: 24 off 17 is 141.2 and 93 off 50 is 186.0.
The Hamilton innings
India made 191/8 after Mitchell Santner chose to field, with Adam Milne taking 4/19. The chase needed 192. Allen fell early to Arshdeep Singh, and New Zealand were 59/1 at the end of the powerplay. Seifert started slowly, with 14 off 15 balls according to one report, and was dropped early; that report names the chance as a miss by Naman Dhir on 13. He reached fifty off 34 balls, and he and Glenn Phillips added 86 together. Phillips finished unbeaten on 65 off 38 balls, and the winning boundary went through third man.
Seifert was bowled when a good-length ball from Nitish Kumar Reddy took an inside edge onto his stumps, with 24 still needed, according to one report. The boundary count shows how he scored: 11 fours and five sixes is 74 of his 93 runs, or 79.6%, from boundaries. After the half-century he scored 43 off his last 16 balls, a strike rate of 268.8, compared with 36 off the 19 balls between his 15th ball and his fifty. He also took the catch off a top-edged pull that removed Shreyas Iyer, so he was keeping wicket as well.
Not every detail in the Hamilton coverage agrees. Outlets differed on Finn Allen’s score, on the balls Ishan Kishan and Iyer faced, and on whether the Seifert–Phillips stand was for the second or third wicket. We have left those details out rather than pick one.
What it suggests: our reading
This section is editorial analysis and not confirmed fact. The pattern is of an opener who plays at one speed. In the two innings where we have balls faced, he scored at 141 and 186, and in the four short ones he was caught in the field each time. Hamilton may not have been a change of approach so much as the same approach coming off: Seifert told a reporter that he would rather get out attacking than play timidly, and admitted one shot in Wellington was a bit of a slog. He was also upbeat about how New Zealand fixed small margins in the last two matches.
The other piece of context is the opening pair. The record quoted in Christchurch and the 175-run unbeaten opening stand against UAE at the T20 World Cup in Chennai on 10 February (Seifert 89 not out, Allen 84 not out, a 10-wicket win) show what the pair can do when both stay in. In this series the pair began with that 49-run start in the first match, and Seifert then went for single digits in the next three. Wikipedia lists a T20I record of 90 matches, 2,279 runs at an average of 31.21, 17 fifties and a best of 97 not out, but that page lists his last T20I as 8 March 2026, so it does not include this series. He also made a half-century in the World Cup final, though sources differ on the balls faced.
Fantasy checks
These are checks, not picks, and nothing here promises points.
- Confirm the opening slot. Seifert was listed first on New Zealand’s card in the first four matches, but we have not confirmed his Hamilton position, and selectors and conditions change. A player who bats first faces more balls than one who comes in later.
- Look at the volatility. Single digits in four innings and 93 in the fifth is a wide range, so one big score is not a forecast.
- Check the keeper rules. If your contest awards points for catches or stumpings, confirm that he is keeping and how your platform scores it.
- Read the powerplay. Early wickets to the new ball cost him in this series; look at who is bowling and in which conditions.
- Read the contest rules. Captain multipliers and strike-rate bonuses differ by platform; see our form guide, captain guide and scoring primer.
The 93 was real, but so were the four scores before it. Seifert’s series is a reminder that an aggressive opener’s average hides two different stories: the night everything comes off and the nights the powerplay takes him. The useful questions are the unglamorous ones: is he opening, is he keeping, and who has the new ball.
Quick questions
What did Tim Seifert score in the fifth T20I?
He made 93 off 50 balls at Seddon Park, Hamilton, on Sunday 1 November 2026, with 11 fours and five sixes, in a seven-wicket win.
How did Seifert bat in the series?
Five innings: 24 off 17, 7, 2, 3 and 93 off 50. That is 129 runs, five dismissals and an average of 25.8; outside Hamilton he made 36 runs in four innings.
Is Seifert a wicketkeeper?
Yes. Wikipedia lists him as a wicketkeeper-batter, and in Hamilton he took the catch that dismissed Shreyas Iyer.
Is this fantasy advice?
No. The article lists things to check, such as role, batting position and the confirmed XI. Contest rules vary by platform and nothing here guarantees points.
For the earlier coverage, see our Glenn Phillips analysis, the India bowling analysis, the series preview and the match centre.
Sources
Hamilton match facts: ICC, 1News and Deccan Chronicle, cross-checked with Outlook India. First T20I and the opening pair’s record: The Tribune and The News Mill. Scorecards for the second, third and fourth matches: ThePrint (2nd), ThePrint (3rd) and ThePrint (4th). Seifert’s comments: CricTracker. World Cup opening stand: Dawn. Career role and statistics: Wikipedia. Match dates and results are from results already published on this site and the ICC.