Indian players and support staff celebrate with the trophy after winning the T20 World Cup final match against New Zealand in Ahmedabad, India, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP) TimesofIndia.com in Ahmedabad: Since that emotional night on November 19, 2023 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, India have won the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy, but a sense of incompleteness lingered due to the heartbreak of the 50th World Cup final. In preparation for the title match in 2026 at the same venue, an unforgettable past was remembered. Even though Suryakumar Yadav has not lost a single series since taking charge in 2024, the World Cup hype has been approached with caution. In the finale, the team carrying the burden of billions of hopes in 2026 and billions of broken hearts in 2023 came true. And delivered with confidence!A dominant India completely outplayed New Zealand to seal an emphatic victory and become the only T20I team in history to win back-to-back World Cup titles, as well as the first team to win the trophy at home. The much-anticipated title fight proved no contest with Suryakumar Yadav and co clinically owning the night, the occasion and the match to add another ICC trophy to their cabinet. It was coach Gautam Gambhir’s second title in as many grand campaigns, capping off a thoroughly entertaining and dominant two-year run leading up to the big night in Ahmedabad.Chasing a mammoth 256 runs, New Zealand never really got going. Maybe it was the noise. It may have been the Indian bowling, but bar Tim Seifert (52) and skipper Mitchell Santner (43), none of the other batsmen worked for the BlackCaps. Santner wished to emulate Pat Cummins & Co. from three years ago, but ended up being a lackluster show.Jasprit Bumrah took 4/15 for India and was on the cusp of a hat-trick at one stage. Axar Patel took three; Hardik Pandya, Varun Chakaravarthy and Abhishek Sharma plucked one each. Only Arshdeep Singh, who would make headlines for his needless attack on Daryl Mitchell, was wicketless.Sometimes one shot brings a player back into form, but for India, Lockie Ferguson’s power-play opened the floodgates and set the tone for the rest of the innings. The edges flew in unintended directions but achieved the desired result. The New Zealand fast bowler tried to overcompensate with a length error and was scorned. Control was not his forte in the fourth over, which had 24 runs and also produced the first 50 runs in a T20 World Cup final since 2009.Indian openers Sanju Samson (89 off 46 balls) and Abhishek Sharma (52 off 21 balls) put on 98 runs in just 43 balls after New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner won the toss and opted to field at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The opening stand set the tone for India as they posted 255 for 5.Abhishek Sharma was not in complete control but rode with luck to either make enough connection or find the right placement. The players in the field had a few chances, but there was “just enough” left for the power play. Just one over in the over turned out to be a tactical error for the Black Caps as both Sanju Samson and Abhishek feasted on some very ordinary bowling to post 92/0, the highest power over score in the tournament’s history. Although the two had different control percentages, they found and cleared the boundaries with ease, giving the side an ominous start.The first two overs, with fielding restrictions in place, were the only times India seemed happy to block a few deliveries, as there was absolute carnage the moment Jacob Duffy was introduced into the attack. Trailing 12/0 at the end of the second over, the openers added 80 runs in the next four overs. Abhishek still batted in the same gear he had been keen on in the games leading up to the title clash and hit the fastest half-century of the tournament off just 18 balls. A warm hug from coach Gautam Gambhir during the drinks break showed how the dressing room was always behind him celebrating what was a brilliant knock under pressure.While Abhishek departed shortly after reaching his half-century, Samson continued business as usual, looking in pristine form and completing his third consecutive half-century in the tournament. The stroke selection, clean connections and easy ability to time the ball sweetly made the New Zealand bowlers take cover. Both Samson and another batsman, Ishan Kishan (54 off 25 balls), did not miss out as they combined for 105 runs off just 48 balls to put the Kiwis on the mat.Right from the moment he walked out to bat, Ishan looked possessed and immediately found his spots, just like he has been doing for the last couple of months. There was muscle, grace and plenty of runs as India produced another dismal display with the bat. It was something that was expected of this dangerous unit before the tournament started and what finally happened when it mattered most, in the Super 8s, semi-finals and now the final.Samson’s 46-ball 89 and Kishan’s 25-ball 54 were exactly the contributions India needed from their top order in this batting haven, aided by listless bowling. James Neesham put the brakes on briefly with a tight third but Shivam Dube (26 off 8 balls) was on hand to play another impressive hand to push the total past 250 and well beyond the Kiwis’ reach.The 256-run chase required the Kiwis to not only fly but soar. They had firepower in the ranks but a big game, a well-rounded Indian bowling attack and more than 85,000 fans behind the defending champions meant it would be nothing short of a repeat of the dominance seen in the Eden Gardens semi-final. The power play holds the key in these mammoth chases and India managed the first six overs to break the opposition’s back before they could gain any run momentum.It could have been a lot worse had Shivam Dube not interrupted Arshdeep Singh’s celebration by dropping a sitter off his bowling, but the combined brilliance of left-armer Jasprit Bumrah and Axar Patel reduced the opposition to just 52/3.Quick Score:India: 255 for 5 in 20 overs. (Sanju Samson 89, Ishan Kishan 54, Abhishek Sharma 52; James Neesham 3/46).New Zealand: 159 all out in 19 overs. (Tim Seifert 52, J Bumrah 4/15, Axar Patel 3/23).
