Team India on Sunday created history with a spectacular third T20 World Cup win by defeating New Zealand by 96 runs. Suryakumar Yadav’s men also became the first men’s international team to win successive World T20 titles and also the first to claim the trophy on home turf.
The Black Caps seemed no match for the marauding Men in Blue, who put up a clinical performace to romp home at the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium here.
The Team India’s title win was scripted within the first hour of the start of the match with openers Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma ensuring the side reached the highest-ever T20 international total on this ground. Notably, the previous highest total also involved both these teams, as India posted 234/4 in 2023.
On Sunday, the Indian batters rose to the occasion and posted 255 for 5 — which turned out be the highest-ever total scored by a team in any final match of the ICC T20 events.
Under the radar of spinners in the entire tournament, Abhishek (51) returned to form when it mattered the most by posting the fastest half-century of the tournament. Continuing his dream run, Samson, who missed scoring a well-deserved century in the last two outings, went back to pavilion at 89. For the first and the last time during this tournament, the opening pair clicked for Team India. Later, the heroics of Ishan Kishan (54) and Shivam Dube (26) propelled the Indian innings towards a massive total and piled on more misery on the Kiwis.
Struggling with his form prior to the high-stakes final, Abhishek hit New Zealand pacers all over the park with his signature shots. He ended his knock at 21-ball 52. Samson, on other hand, overshadowed Abhishek’s innings by smashing eight sixes and five boundaries. He and Ishan teamed up for a 105-run partnership in 48 balls.
India posted a match-winning 255 for 5 in 20 overs. Already under pressure of a challenging total, New Zealand lost all their top batters by the time the innings entered the halfway stage. Opener Tim Seifert smashed 52 off 26 balls, but the rest of the top-order disappointed in the stiff chase. The Black Caps never looked in race during their chase.
Jasprit Bumrah’s 4/15 and Axar Patel’s 3/27 helped bundle out the Kiwis for 159, handing India a 96-run victory and the Twenty20 World Cup title. Samson was declared the Player of the Tournament.
