Ahmedabad: It was as one-sided as it gets.
Team India kept their date with destiny to hammer New Zealand by 96 runs in the final of the T20 World Cup 2026 in front of more than one lakh spectators at Narendra Modi Stadium here on Sunday night.
After Sanju Samson’s 89 and half-centuries by Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma powered India to an imposing 255/5 in their allotted 20 overs, the bowlers did their job most efficiently to dismiss the Black Caps for 159.
The one and only Jasprit Bumrah opened the floodgates, having Rachin Ravindra brilliantly caught by Ishan Kishan with his very first ball — a well-disguised slower delivery. Player-of-the-Final Bumrah went on to bag four wickets while Axar Patel got three.
If Bumrah was the bowler extraordinaire, Samson was the real hero with the bat.
Not part of the starting XI initially in the tournament, Samson turned in match-turning performances in the last three games — 97 not out in the virtual quarterfinal against the West Indies, 89 versus England in the semifinal and 89 more in the big finale. No wonder he was adjudged the Player of the tournament.
India thus became the first team to retain the T20 World Cup title, as well as lift the trophy on home soil.
Overall, it was India’s third T20 World Cup triumph, to add to their two ODI World Cup wins.
BRIEF SCORES
India 255/5 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 89, Ishan Kishan 54, Abhishek Sharma 52; Jimmy Neesham 3/46).
New Zealand 159 in 19 overs (Tim Seifert 52, Mitchell Santner 43; Jasprit Bumrah 4/15, Axar Patel 3/27).
Result: India won by 96 runs.
Player of the Final: Jasprit Bumrah.
Player of the Tournament: Sanju Samson.
