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 the feeling of incompleteness persisted due to the heartbreak in the 50-over World Cup final. In the build-up to the 2026 title clash at the same venue, the unforgettable past was remembered. Even though Suryakumar Yadav hadn’t lost a single series since taking charge in 2024, the hype of the World Cup was approached with caution. In the final, the team carrying the burden of a billion hopes in 2026 and the billion heartbreaks of 2023, delivered. And delivered with aplomb!
A dominant India completely outplayed New Zealand to seal an emphatic win and become the only T20I side in history to lift back-to-back World Cup titles, and also became the first side win the trophy at home. The much-anticipated title clash turned out to be a no-contest with Suryakumar Yadav and Co. clinically owning the night, occasion and match to add another ICC trophy to their cabinet. This was coach Gautam Gambhir’s second title in as many outings in command, completing a thoroughly entertaining, and dominating, two-year cycle leading up to the big night in Ahmedabad.Chasing a mammoth 256 runs, New Zealand never really got going. Maybe it was the noise. Maybe it was the Indian bowling but bar Tim Seifert (52) and skipper Mitchell Santner (43), none of the other batters worked for the BlackCaps. Santner had wished to replicate Pat Cummins & Co. from three years ago, but in the end it was an insipid showing.For India, Jasprit Bumrah took 4/15 and stood on the cusp of taking 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 take headlines for his needless go at Daryl Mitchell, went wicketless.Sometimes one shot brings a player back into form but for India, Lockie Ferguson’s over in the powerplay opened the floodgates and set the tone for the remainder of the innings. Edges flew in unintended directions but achieved the desired result. The New Zealand speedster tried to overcompensate by erring in length and was dealt with disdain. Control was not his strongest suit in the fourth over, which went for 24 runs and also brought up the first 50-run opening stand in a T20 World Cup final since the 2009 edition.India 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 his luck to either make enough connection or find the right placement. There were a couple of chances for the fielders but “just enough” remained for the powerplay. Just one over of off-spin in the powerplay proved a tactical blunder from the Black Caps as both Sanju Samson and Abhishek feasted on some very ordinary bowling to post 92/0, the highest powerplay score in the tournament’s history. Although the two had different control percentages, they easily found and cleared the boundaries, giving the side an ominous start.The first two overs, when the fielding restrictions were on, were the only time India seemed happy to block a few deliveries as absolute carnage unfolded the moment Jacob Duffy was introduced into the attack. After 12/0 at the end of the second over, the openers added 80 runs in the next four overs. Abhishek kept batting in the same gear, the way he had longed for in the games preceding the title clash, and reached the fastest half-century of the tournament off only 18 balls. The warm hug from coach Gautam Gambhir during the drinks interval showed how the dressing room had always stood behind him and celebrated what was a superb knock under pressure.While Abhishek departed shortly after scoring his half-century, Samson continued business as usual, looking in pristine form and completing his third consecutive half-century in the tournament. The shot selection, clean connections and effortless ability to time the ball sweetly made the New Zealand bowlers duck for cover. Both Samson and the next batter, Ishan Kishan (54 off 25 balls), did not let the momentum slip as together they added 105 runs off just 48 balls to put the Kiwis on the mat.Right from the moment he walked out to bat, Ishan looked a man possessed and instantly found his spots, just as he has been doing for the last couple of months. There was muscle, there was grace and there were plenty of runs as India produced yet another daunting display with the bat. It was something expected from this dangerous unit before the start of the tournament and something that finally happened when it mattered the most, in the Super 8s, the semi-final 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 on this batting paradise, which was aided by listless bowling. James Neesham briefly applied the brakes with a tight third over but Shivam Dube (26 not out off 8 balls) was ready to play another impactful hand to push the total beyond 250 and well beyond the Kiwis’ reach.The 256-run chase required the Kiwis not just to fly but to soar. They had the firepower in the ranks but a big match, a well-rounded Indian bowling attack and over 85,000 fans behind the defending champions meant it was going to be anything but a repeat of the domination seen in the Eden Gardens semi-final. The powerplay holds the key in these mammoth chases and India aced the first six overs to break the opposition’s back before they could gain momentum in the run chase.It could have been much worse had Shivam Dube not interrupted Arshdeep Singh’s celebration by dropping a sitter off his bowling but the combined brilliance of the left-armer, Jasprit Bumrah and Axar Patel reduced the opponents to just 52/3.Brief Scores: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).
