India delivered a dominant performance to defeat New Zealand national cricket team by 96 runs in the final of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, creating multiple records in the process.
The victory marked a historic achievement for the India national cricket team, which became the first team to win three T20 World Cup titles, the first host nation to win the tournament, and the first side to successfully defend the title.
Batting first, India posted a massive total of 255/5 in Ahmedabad. In reply, New Zealand were bowled out for 159 with an over remaining.
Key contributions came from Sanju Samson, who top-scored with 89 runs, while Abhishek Sharma smashed 52 off just 21 deliveries.
Ishan Kishan also played an explosive knock, scoring 54 runs from 25 balls.
More about the tournament can be found here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICC_Men%27s_T20_World_Cup
Despite the one-sided nature of the final, a light-hearted moment during the match caught fans' attention.
With India firmly in control, spectators in the stadium began chanting for Ishan Kishan to bowl an over.
Fielding near the boundary, Kishan noticed the chants and relayed the message to captain Suryakumar Yadav.
In a playful gesture, the wicketkeeper-batter even mimicked a bowling action, hoping the captain might hand him the ball.
However, Suryakumar Yadav decided not to experiment, even though the match was already slipping away from New Zealand.
The final wicket was eventually taken by Abhishek Sharma, who was given an over late in the innings.
India enjoyed an impressive run throughout the tournament, winning eight of their nine matches.
Their only defeat came against South Africa national cricket team during the Super 8 stage.
The team progressed through the tournament by defeating the United States national cricket team, Namibia national cricket team, Pakistan national cricket team and Netherlands national cricket team in the group stage.
They later overcame Zimbabwe national cricket team and West Indies cricket team before narrowly defeating England cricket team in the semi-final.
With this triumph, India's total ICC titles now stands at eight, bringing them closer to Australia national cricket team, which holds the record with ten ICC trophies.