History was created at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday (March 8) as India smashed New Zealand by 96 runs to register their third T20 World Cup title, thereby becoming the first team to do so. England and West Indies are the only other sides to have won the trophy twice, and India went into unprecedented territory with this landmark win.
This is also the first instance of a team defending their title successfully in T20 World Cup history and also the first time that a home team has gone on to win the T20 World Cup. To top it off, this was India's first-ever win against New Zealand in T20 World Cup history, having lost all three games prior to the summit clash. Also, the 'Ahmedabad jinx' was conquered after losing the 2023 ODI World Cup final and Super 8s game of T20 World Cup 2026 previously.
The win was set up by India's top-three with Sanju Samson (89) leading the way once more. Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan also smashed explosive fifties, with the trio becoming the first top-three to register fifty-plus scores in the same innings of a T20 World Cup game. What an occasion they chose to create history!
India did stumble a bit later on but Shivam Dube's late assault got them to 250 for the second game in a row and unlike England in the semifinal, New Zealand's batters were no match for India's bowling attack. The Black Caps needed plenty of magic and loads of luck to even stay in the game but unfortunately for them, it wasn't to be.
Jasprit Bumrah finished with a four-wicket haul and recorded the best bowling figures in a T20 World Cup final. He was on a hat-trick once and also had the chance to end with a five-wicket haul but narrowly missed out on the major milestone.
Samson and Abhishek set the tone with the first-ever fifty partnership in a T20 World Cup final and India's batting effort ripped out a series of records to get to 255-5. Once that score was posted on the board, realistically, there was only going to be one winner. Regardless of England's fight at the Wankhede.
Tim Seifert was the only New Zealand batter to show some fight but too many wickets fell around him and he also departed in pursuit of keeping the required rate in check. Skipper Mitchell Santner also got runs but they were only of academic interest. The visitors will rue some of their tactics with the ball, especially the ploy to bowl too many slower balls in India's powerplay.
That said, India's batting effort once again showed how far ahead of the curve they are at the moment. It was their third 250-plus total of T20 World Cup 2026 and seventh overall with no other international side getting to five. West Indies are next best with three such scores and it tells you the elite level of India's ball-striking.