Quick Score: India (255 for 5 in 20 overs) beat New Zealand (159 all out in 19 overs) by 96 runs in the T20 World Cup final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday. | IND vs NZ Final: Highlights | Scorecard |
The Narendra Modi Stadium curse has finally been lifted. Under a ring of fire and in front of nearly 90,000 roaring fans in Ahmedabad on Sunday 8 March, the ghosts of 19 November 2023 were pushed aside. The noise was deafening, the blue sea unrelenting and this time India refused to let history haunt them again. Suryakumar Yadav’s men emphatically defended their T20 World Cup crown, defeating New Zealand by 96 runs in a one-sided final on Sunday.
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India became the first team to win the Men’s T20 World Cup on home soil and the first team to successfully defend the title. They also moved ahead of England (2010, 2022) and West Indies (2012, 2016) to become the only side with three Men’s World T20 crowns – in 2007, 2024 and 2026.
Suryakumar Yadav, a late bloomer who was handed the captaincy at the age of 33, joined the league of legends – Kapil Dev, MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and Harmanpreet Kaur as the only captains to have won a World Cup for India.
With the attitude they have carefully cultivated in the dressing room over the last two years, India have broken records after being sent into bat. They amassed a staggering 255 and turned the big arena into a festival of boundaries and sixes. Sanju Samson, in the form of his life, was again the star, smashing 89 off 46 balls and agonizingly falling short of a hundred for the third time in a row in this tournament. Ruthless fifties from Ishan Kishan (54 off 25) and Abhishek Sharma (52 off 21), along with another masterful finish from Shivam Dube (26 not out for 8), took India to a total of 250-plus for the second time in a row.
Chasing the Himalayan target, New Zealand never quite recovered from the early damage. Unlike England in the semi-finals, The BlackCaps lacked the spark of a defiant centurion like Jacob Bethell as they struggled to keep up with the required rate. Three goals were scored in the power play and the chase has already run away. With New Zealand slumping to 72 for 5 in the ninth over, the result seemed inevitable. It was a walk in the park for the rest of India’s chase as they completed the formalities before bursting into celebration.
New Zealand were all out for 159 in 19 overs as Jasprit Bumrah led a disciplined bowling show to finish with figures of 4 for 15.
For the BlackCaps, who swept unbeaten South Africa in the semi-finals, the final step again proved to be the most difficult. They came so close to the top again – but only almost there.
ONE FOR AHMEDABAD!
Ahmedabad, despite its majesty, has long been haunted by the echo of silence on November 19, 2023. For many, the Narendra Modi Stadium has become a reminder of heartbreak rather than triumph.
But on Sunday night, that story finally changed. The ghosts were chased away by a fearless Indian party that turned the giant arena into a fortress again. In front of packed stands, India gave the crowd exactly what they came for – dominance, drama and celebration.
India then also batted first. But they were timid, shackled by the fear of failure. But on Sunday, Suryakumar Yadav’s men batted like they knew no fear, hitting the ball like they were in the nets and smashing the net bowlers into the stands.
The Ahmedabad crowd often criticized: that the energy runs out the moment India finds itself in trouble. On November 19, when Pat Cummins promised to silence the blue sea, the silence came with chilling efficiency. This time, however, there was never a chance for the noise to die down.
The Indian batters ensured that the fans were entertained from start to finish. Fearless, expressive and unapologetically aggressive, the largely core Gen Z put on a performance that had the crowd roaring all night. Boundaries flowed, wickets fell and the atmosphere never dropped, turning what was once a sore spot into a fortress of celebration.
250, NORM?
Here is a telling statistic. Before Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir came together, India had crossed the 250-run mark only once in T20Is. They have crossed the 250 mark six times since July 2024. Just in this T20 World Cup? Three times.
Two of those totals came in the semi-final and final, showing how fully this team bought into the idea of going all out through their 20 overs.
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Issued by:
Akshay Ramesh
Published on:
March 8, 2026 10:49 PM IST
