India Clinch Third T20 World Cup Title, Crush New Zealand by 96 Runs

The 2023 ODI World Cup still remains a story of regret for India national cricket team. In that tournament, they had to lose the title to Australia national cricket team in the final at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. However, in the T20 World Cup final at the same venue, they made no mistake this time. Instead, they lifted the curse. India have won the T20 World Cup on home soil for the first time. In the final, they defeated New Zealand national cricket team by 96 runs.

By defeating the Kiwis, the team led by Suryakumar Yadav created a new history. They became the first team to win three T20 World Cup titles. Not only that, they also secured the T20 World Cup for the second consecutive time, highlighting their dominance in the shortest format of cricket.

Chasing a target of 256 runs, New Zealand could not even come close to the kind of fight that was required. In a one-sided match, the Kiwis were all out for 159 runs in 19 overs.

Only opener Tim Seifert (52) and Mitchell Santner (43) showed resistance with the bat. Seifert’s 52 came off 26 balls and included 2 fours and 5 sixes. Meanwhile, captain Santner’s 43 came from 35 balls and included 3 fours and 2 sixes. The rest of the batters failed to stand their ground.

With the ball, Jasprit Bumrah was the main architect of the victory, taking 4 wickets for 15 runs. Axar Patel claimed three wickets for 27 runs. Hardik Pandya, Varun Chakravarthy and Abhishek Sharma took one wicket each.

Earlier, despite losing the toss, India built a mountain of runs after batting first. They scored 255 runs for 5 wickets. This is the highest score in a T20 World Cup final. It is also the highest score ever at the Ahmedabad venue. Overall, it is the third-highest total in the history of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup.

Even after winning the toss, New Zealand’s bowling attack failed to contain India’s batters. Instead, the top three batters Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan struck half-centuries to lay the foundation for a huge total. In the opening partnership, Abhishek launched an assault during the powerplay and reached his fifty in just 18 balls. As a result, India reached 92 runs without losing a wicket in the first 6 overs.

In the eighth over, Rachin Ravindra dismissed Abhishek for 52 runs. His 21-ball innings included 6 fours and 3 sixes. That ended the opening partnership of 98 runs. At that stage, Samson was not as aggressive initially, but later he began to attack relentlessly. At one point, even a 300-run total seemed possible. Ishan was also scoring quickly.

However, in the 16th over, James Neesham struck and sent Samson (89), Ishan Kishan (54), and Suryakumar Yadav (0) back to the pavilion in quick succession. Samson’s 89 came from 46 balls with 5 fours and 8 sixes, while Ishan’s 54 came from 25 balls with 4 fours and 4 sixes. This sudden collapse affected India’s momentum.

In the 18.2 over, Matt Henry dismissed Hardik Pandya (0), increasing the pressure on the hosts.

Even then, India managed to cross the 250-run mark thanks to a destructive late cameo from Shivam Dube. He remained unbeaten on 26 runs from just 8 balls, hitting 3 fours and 2 sixes.

For New Zealand, James Neesham took 3 wickets for 46 runs. Matt Henry and Rachin Ravindra picked up one wicket each.