Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], February 1 (ANI): Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav has provided a crucial update on injured all-rounder Washington Sundar, who missed the five-match T20I series due to an injury.

Sundar underwent scans after reporting an acute onset of discomfort in his lower rib area while bowling during the first ODI against New Zealand at the BCA Stadium, Vadodara, on January 11.

An in-person consultation with an expert followed, which confirmed that Sundar had a side strain and advised rest for a few days.

After that, he will report to the BCCI Centre of Excellence (COE) for further management of his injury. Later on, BCCI confirmed that Sundar, who is also part of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 squad, will miss the five-match T20I series against New Zealand.

After winning the fifth and final T20I and clinching the series 4-1 against Black Caps, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav, during the post-match press conference, confirmed that Washington Sundar has almost started his bowling and batting. The Indian captain remained optimistic about Sundar's availability.

'I think Washington Sundar is also doing well. We spoke to both of them yesterday (Tilak Varma and Washington Sundar). Tilak is much better. Washington has almost started his bowling and batting. So he is also looking good. Hopefully, we get him back soon.'

In the match, India won the toss and chose to bat first. While Sanju fell to a single-digit score, Abhishek Sharma (30 in 16 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) also fell, leaving India at 48/2. A 137-run stand between Ishan Kishan (103 in 43 balls, with six fours and 10 sixes) and skipper Suryakumar Yadav (63 in 30 balls, with four boundaries and six sixes) enthralled the audience. Later on, a cameo from Hardik Pandya (42 in 17 balls, with a four and four sixes) took India to 271/5 in 20 overs.

Lockie Ferguson (2/41) was the pick of the bowlers for New Zealand, while Jacob Duffy (1/53), Kyle Jamieson (1/59) and Mitchell Santner (1/60) leaked runs.

In the run chase, after the Kiwis lost Tim Seifert early, a century stand between Allen (80 in 38 balls, with eight fours and six sixes) and Rachin Ravindra (30 in 17 balls, with two fours and two sixes) threatened to make India sweat. However, Arshdeep Singh (5/51) and Axar Patel (3/33) ripped apart the Kiwi middle-order, and they were skittled out for 225 runs after being 191/9 at one point.

India has won the five-match T20I series 4-1. (ANI)