The India national cricket team scripted history on Sunday by defeating the New Zealand national cricket team by 96 runs to win the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad in India.
The victory makes India the first team to win the T20 World Cup back-to-back, while also becoming the first side to lift the trophy three times. It was also a historic night for the hosts, as India became the first nation to win a T20 World Cup on home soil.
For New Zealand, however, the defeat reopened painful memories as they once again fell short in a white-ball final in an International Cricket Council event, reviving the dreaded “choker” tag.
Kiwi skipper Mitchell Santner had hoped to silence the roaring Indian crowd, but the hosts had other plans as their batters delivered a ruthless display to pile up a massive 255/5 in 20 overs, the highest first-innings total in a T20 World Cup final.
Santner had won the toss and opted to field, bringing in pacer Jacob Duffy in place of Cole McConchie, while India kept an unchanged XI.
India’s left-right opening pair, Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson, quickly turned the contest into a one-sided affair. After a watchful start, the duo unleashed a brutal assault, hammering 92 runs in the powerplay - the highest in this edition and joint-highest in T20 World Cup history.
The pair also became the first opening duo to register a 50-plus partnership in a T20 World Cup final, racing to a 98-run stand.
Abhishek produced a spectacular knock, smashing the fastest half-century of the tournament in just 18 balls with six fours and three sixes before being dismissed for 52 by Rachin Ravindra.
Samson carried the momentum forward, stitching together a 105-run second-wicket partnership with Ishan Kishan off just 48 deliveries. Samson struck a brilliant 89 off 45 balls, including five fours and eight sixes, posting his third consecutive half-century in this tournament. He was named player of the tournament.
Kishan also hammered a rapid 54 off 25 deliveries as the Indian top-order dominated the Kiwi bowling. The Black Caps' pace-heavy strategy backfired badly, with Matt Henry struggling early and Lockie Ferguson conceding 48 runs in just two overs.
A brief collapse saw India slip from 203/2 to 204/4 in the 16th over after strikes from James Neesham, but Shivam Dube smashed three fours and two sixes in the final over to push the total past 250.
India’s mammoth total featured a whopping 19 fours and 18 sixes.
In reply, New Zealand never truly recovered after losing Finn Allen early. Tim Seifert tried to stabilise the chase with a brisk 52 off 26 balls, but once he fell to Varun Chakravarthy, the innings quickly unravelled.
Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, and Mark Chapman failed to make an impact, while Santner’s late cameo of 43 could hardly change the outcome.
India’s bowling attack sealed the emphatic victory as Jasprit Bumrah starred with 4/15, becoming the player of the match, while Axar Patel claimed three wickets. The right-arm quick also emerged as India’s leading wicket-taker in T20 World Cups with 40 wickets.
For India, it was another night of glory. For New Zealand, the nightmare of another lost final continued.
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