3 min readUpdated: Mar 9, 2026 12:52 AM IST
India created history on Sunday as they became the first team to defend the T20 World Cup while also becoming the first team to win the title on home soil as the Men in Blue thrashed New Zealand by 96 runs in the T20 World Cup final in Ahmedabad at the Narendra Modi Stadium, exorcising the demons of that 2023 ODI World Cup final loss to Australia.
Chasing such a huge total in the final would always be a tall task for the Kiwis and it became infinitely harder when they lost Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra and Glenn Phillips inside the first 5 overs. Hardik Pandya would then send back Mark Chapman before Tim Seifert, who managed to score a half century, fell to Varun Chakaravarthy. After Daryl Mitchell fell in the 13th over to Axar, New Zealand’s last hope was snuffed out. Jasprit Bumrah took 4 wickets and Axar Patel snapped up 3 wickets as they broke the back of the Kiwis.
Earlier, Sanju Samson scarred an awestruck New Zealand in the company of an equally destructive Abhishek Sharma, who saved his best for the last in India’s record-breaking 255 for five against New Zealand. And if that wasn’t enough Ishan Kishan (54 off 25 balls) proved that even three can tango together as India’s top three in a superlative batting display stunned New Zealand.
Abhishek took full advantage of Mitchell Santner’s tactical harakiri with a 21-ball-52 blitzkrieg but Samson’s muscular effort — a dazzling 89 off 46 balls, a union of beastly power and silken grace, will be remembered for times to come. There were eight sixes — a few over long-on, couple over square leg, down the ground, and over long-off.
After match-winning efforts versus West Indies and England, Samson finally silenced the Doubting Thomases, who questioned his credentials over the past decade.
An 18-ball-50 with his signature straight sixes, the familiar bat swing, the Punjab man enjoyed the rub of the green under the floodlit Ahmedabad skyline. Skipper Santner completely misread the Motera track and made a blunder in team selection, dropping off-spinner Cole McConchie, who had dismissed southpaws Quinton de Kock and Ryan Rickleton in the only over that he bowled in the semifinal.
After Rachin Ravindra (1/32 in 2 overs) removed Abhishek after a 98-run opening stand off 43 balls, Kishan kept the tempo with four sixes and as many boundaries A 105-run stand off 48 balls took them past 200-run mark before Jimmy Neesham (3/46 in four over) removed Samson, Kishan and skipper Suryakumar Yadav (0) in the 16th over. However, the damage had already been done by then.
