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-centuri
es 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 bagged four wickets and Axar Patel got three.
India thus became the first team to retain the T20 World Cup title, as well as lift the trophy on home soil.
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.