India-NZ
History made! India crush New Zealand by 96 runs to defend T20 World Cup
India put up an all-round show to beat New Zealand by 96 runs in the final to win the T20 World Cup on Sunday, writing a new chapter in the history books by becoming the first nation to defend the showpiece tournament.
Putting up a dominant show in Ahmedabad, the city where people suffered a heartbreak in 2023 with a loss at the hands of Australia in the 50-over final, India put up a challenging score of 255 runs for the loss of five wickets and then destroyed the New Zealand batting challenge to bowl the opponents for 159 runs with one over to spare.
Jasprit Bumrah, one of the senior bowlers in the squad, put up a strong show to scalp four wickets to remain the highest wicket-taker for the hosts, giving little chance New Zealand batsmen to recover.
He was adjudged the Man of the Match for his sensational performance.
Apart from Bumrah, local player Axar Patel took three wickets that kept New Zealand batsmen under check.
Hardik Pandya, Varun Chakravarthy and Abhishek Sharma picked a wicket each.
Tim Seifert whacked 52 from 26 balls, and skipper Mitchell Santner contributed 43 runs for New Zealand while the rest of the batting lineup failed to take the momentum needed to reach the target, giving a chance to more than 100,000 jubilant supporters who celebrated the moment.
Earlier, Sanju Samson produced a blistering innings to power India to a formidable 255 for 5 against New Zealand in the high-octane final.
After winning the toss, New Zealand opted to bowl first, hoping to take advantage of early conditions. However, India’s aggressive top order quickly took control, piling up runs at a rapid pace.
Samson led the charge with a scintillating 89 off 46 deliveries, smashing eight sixes and five boundaries.
Samson’s innings ended at 203 for 2 when he was caught by substitute Cole McConchie off the bowling of James Neesham.
India’s momentum was further strengthened by valuable contributions from the top order. Despite failing all through the tournament, Abhishek Sharma blasted 52 off just 21 balls, striking six fours and three sixes, while Ishan Kishan added a brisk 54 from 25 deliveries to maintain the scoring rate.
Hardik Pandya chipped in with 18 runs off 13 balls, including a towering six, before being caught by Mitchell Santner off Matt Henry. Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav was dismissed for a golden duck.
India’s lower order finished strongly as Shivam Dube launched a late assault in the final over, striking two sixes and two fours off Neesham to push the total past the 250 mark. Tilak Varma remained unbeaten on eight.
Neesham picked up three wickets for New Zealand.
With this victory, India won three key ICC tournaments in recent years- T20 World Cup (2024), Champion Trophy (2025) and T20 World Cup (2026).
India had defeated New Zealand in the Champions Trophy final in Dubai last year.
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