Key events
Simon Burnton
It might not have been the thriller neutrals wanted, but it was everything India desired. They became the first men’s team to defend the T20 World Cup and the first to win it at home after drowning New Zealand in a deluge of runs in Ahmedabad in front of 100,000 giddy and almost universally blue-clad supporters.
New Zealand looked forlorn while conceding 255 and wretched when attempting to chase it, and after meandering through much of their innings with defeat already a certainty they were still 96 behind when it ended. They have now reached four World Cup finals of various hues since 2015 and lost them all, plus the Champions Trophy last year to boot.
The player of the tournament is Sanju Samson
It feels like a dream! I’m out of words, out of emotions. In 2024, when I was with the a World Cup-winning team but didn’t play a game, I kept on dreaming, kept on visualising, kept on working. This is exactly what I wanted to achieve. By God’s grace, things have turned around.
After the New Zealand series [in January, when he made 46 runs in five innings] I was completely out of my mind. I thought, ‘My dreams are shattered, what ele can I do?’ But God had different plans – I came back into the team and I did what I could for my country.
In the last couple of months – I hope I can share it here – I hhave been in constant touch with Sachin Tendulkar sir. I reached out to him and have had some big conversations with him. Getting guidance from someone like him, what more can I ask for?
The player of the match is Jasprit Bumrah. He’s the best fast bowler in the world, and on today’s evidence he might the best slow bowler as well.
It feels extremely special. I played one final at my home venue – we couldn’t win that so I was really motivated today. I was really clear, I knew what I wanted to do. The wicket was a flat one, so I used all my experience of playing here. Today was a wonderful day when all the execution went as planned. Really happy, really grateful; God is really kind.
Before this tournament I was in a zone where I felt I was trying too hard. In this format, I let the game come to me. I was clear, I was prepared… and then read the situation and believe in myself. That is what I tried to do and it worked really well. My individual assessment of my game has always been my strength.
Man of the match in a World Cup final at a ground where I started my cricket: it couldn’t be more special than this.
The bowling group has been wonderful. We kept calm. We never panicked, even when the games got close. We always felt that we could keep our head above the water and try to hold our nerve. Teams that do that in tournaments usually win it.
“Shame that the final was largely a non-event,” says Colum Fordham. “England’s valiant attempt to match India’s gargantuan total in the semi-final was far more interesting with Jacob Bethell’s thrilling century. The Kiwis have been completely outplayed today. Hats off to the brilliance of the bowling of Jasprit Bumprah and Axar Patel.”
With much respect to Will Jacks, the player of the tournament deserves to be Sanju Samson. Eight days ago he was a frustratingly unfulfilled talent at international level; then he put together this little run.
The best team in the world have raised the bar to a frightening level. They scored more than 250 in both the semi-final and final, a mind-blowing achievement, and Jasprit Bumrah led their attack with some laughably good bowling. Across nine matches, Bumrah went at only 6.21 runs per over. He was also the joint leading wickettaker with Varun Chakravarathy, taking 14 at an average of 12. What can you do against that?
INDIA WIN THE T20 WORLD CUP FOR THE THIRD TIME!
WICKET! New Zealand 159 all out (Duffy c Tilak b Abhishek 3) Abhishek Sharma takes the World Cup-winning wicket! Duffy holed out to long on, where Tilak took a very well-judged catch just inside the rope. India win by 96 runs and retain the T20 World Cup.
18th over: New Zealand 154-9 (Ferguson 3, Duffy 1) Jasprit Bumrah, the nicest assassin on the planet, ends with figures of 4-0-15-4 – and it’s not even his mos important performance in a T20 World Cup final!
WICKET! New Zealand 152-9 (Santner b Bumrah 43)
The purest genius. Bumrah takes his fourth wicket – all with slower balls, the last three with dipping yorkers. Santner’s the latest to go after slogging all round another beautiful delivery that deceived him completely.
Some people – some experts – didn’t even include Bumrah in their best Test XI of 2025. The man should be in every best XI in every format for the rest of his days.
17th over: New Zealand 152-8 (Santner 43, Ferguson 2) This is all England’s fault, you know. They slaughtered India by 10 wickets in the semi-final of the 2022 T20 World Cup, after which India overhauled their slightly cautious approach with the bat. And now look. In fact, this Indian team are the first to score at more than 10 runs per over across an entire World Cup.
The previous best – this one’s for you, Simon McMahon – was Scotland, who scored at 9.40 runs per over in 2024.
“I’ve never understood the what if-ers,” writes Ian Copestake, an opening line that sounds ominously liek the start of a betting advert. “The Brook drop keeps coming up in that regard. But players react to circumstances, so whoever did not get the chance to step up because Samson stayed in ‘might’ have themselves gone ballistic. One what-if leads to a whole host of them rendering them all pointless.”
I dunno. Some what-ifs are bigger than others?
16th over: New Zealand 143-8 (Santner 37, Ferguson 1) Bumrah’s hat-trick ball is another dipping yorker that Ferguson just manages to keep out. His genius is off the charts, and his figures in a very high-scoring game are 3-0-13-3.
WICKET! New Zealand 141-8 (Henry b Bumrah 0)
He’s on a hat-trick! Matt Henry is bowling by a fantastic slower yorker, and I don’t know what else to say.
WICKET! New Zealand 141-7 (Neesham b Bumrah 8)
Jasprit Bumrah hoodwinks Neesham with a magnificent slower ball that dips under the bat to hit the base of the stumps.
15th over: New Zealand 139-6 (Santner 35, Neesham 8) India are so comfortable that it doesn’t matter when they bowl Jasprit Bumrah. Arshdeep, the only bowler yet to take a wicket in the innings, can’t get on the board in his third over, though he does hit Neesham painfully on the boot with a fine yorker.
14th over: New Zealand 134-6 (Santner 34, Neesham 6) India review for LBW when a yorker from Pandya hits Santner on the back foot. Pitched fractionally outside leg. Time for the final drinks break of the 2026 T20 World Cup.
13th over: New Zealand 128-6 (Santner 31, Neesham 4) Jimmy Neesham, who is facing his third World Cup final defeat, sweeps his first ball for four. I doubt he feels like singing Bon Jovi though: New Zealand need another 128 from 42 balls.
“There’s a lovely story about a batter – I think it’s Adam Holliaoke – shouldering arms to a straight one and getting clean bowled,” begins Max Williams. “He watches the replay back in the dressing room. ‘Well,’ he muses, ‘it’s possible I made a slight misjudgement there.’
“I hope Mitchell Santner makes a similarly pithy observation on his decision to bowl first. Probably wouldn’t have made much difference though.
“What might have made a difference… Harry Brook dropping that sitter from Sanju Samson in the semi-final. Again, who knows?”
WICKET! New Zealand 124-6 (Mitchell c Kishan b Axar 17)
Pandya drops Santner at backward point off Axar, simple catch, then lets the next ball bounce past him for four.
No matter: Axar gets third wicket of the day when Mitchell clunks a full toss to deep midwicket. He suggests to the umpire that it might have been above waist height and therefore a no-ball; it wasn’t.
12th over: New Zealand 119-5 (Mitchell 17, Santner 26) As well as confirming the innate futility of existence for every other international team, India will set several men’s T20 World Cup records today:
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First hosts to win the competition
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First team to retain the trophy
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First team to win it three times overall
Varun may have been expensive at the business end but he’s still the leading wicket-taker in the competition with 14 in nine games. The 15th almost arrives when a hack from Santner loops wide of the man at short third. That near miss seems to have concentrated the mind; Santner swipes his next two balls down the ground for six.
11th over: New Zealand 103-5 (Mitchell 15, Santner 12) Mitchell smokes Arshdeep for a couple of sixes. Later in the over Arshdeep flings the ball back at Mitchell, who is well wide of the stumps at the time. Mitchell is really angry; Arshdeep spins on his heels and ignores him.
The India captain Suryakumar walks up to Mitchell, apologises and shakes his hand – as does Arshdeep at the end of the over. Nothing to see here.
10th over: New Zealand 88-5 (Mitchell 2, Santner 11) New Zealand nee- ah, forget it.
“Should something be done about a format that, at its inception, had one of the finalists turn up to play an international in fancy dress?” wonders Niall Mullen. “Predictably, a fun diversion has come to dominate because of the money involved. Yet again we must remind ourselves that sport doesn’t exist to make money but makes money because it exists*.
“*Obviously I’m not naïve enough to actually think we aren’t 100 miles past this in the hypercapitalist world of modern sport.”
I’m not sure how to answer, except maybe by channelling my inner Roy Keane. If you want fun, go to the circus, etc.
9th over: New Zealand 83-5 (Mitchell 1, Santner 7) New Zealand get four byes when a googly from Varun beats everyone. Santner gets off the mark with a deliberate slice for four.
WICKET! New Zealand 72-5 (Seifert c Kishan b Varun 52)
Varun Chakravarthy gets in on the act! Seifert pumps a short delivery towards deep midwicket, where Kishan takes a brilliant solo relay catch. He grabbed the ball with both hands, threw it up in the air as he staggered close to the boundary and then changed direction to pouch it a second time. Seifert did everything he could, hitting five sixes, but it was never going to be enough.
8th over: New Zealand 72-4 (Seifert 52, Mitchell 1) The new batter is Daryl Mitchell. The required rate is now above 15.
WICKET! New Zealand 70-4 (Chapman b Pandya 3)
Four wickets down, six to go. Chapman drags a wide one from Pandya onto the stumps to end a forgettable cameo of 3 from 8 balls.
Seifert blasts 23-ball fifty!
7th over: New Zealand 68-3 (Seifert 50, Chapman 2) One of the few disappointments for India in this competition has been the form of Varun Chakravarthy at the business end. His first over is manhandled for 16, including two meaty sixes over long-on from Seifert. The second of those sixes brings up a punishing, defiant half-century from 23 balls.
“Something needs to be done to this format,” writes Krishnamoorthy V. “This is just like watching the highlights at 3x speed.”
6th over: New Zealand 52-3 (Seifert 35, Chapman 1) Bumrah turns the screw by conceding only five runs from his second over.
A penny for South Africa’s thoughts. They hammered India, who are now hammering the New Zealand side that hammered South Africa in the semi-finals.
5th over: New Zealand 47-3 (Seifert 31, Chapman 0) Seifert slog-swept another belting six earlier in that Axar over. But he’s all alone on the burning deck
WICKET! New Zealand 47-3 (Phillips b Axar 5)
Axar strikes again! Phillips mows all around a straight one and is bowled, a classic Axar dismissal. New Zealand’s batters effectively won the semi-final inside the Powerplay; today the boot is on the other foot.
4th over: New Zealand 36-2 (Seifert 22, Phillips 1) The required rate is already 13.81 per over.
WICKET! New Zealand 32-2 (Ravindra c Kishan b Bumrah 1)
India use their cheat code to devastating effect. Just as in the semi-final, Jasprit Bumrah has started his spell with a slower ball and taken a wicket. Ravindra spooned it high towards deep backward square, where Ishan Kishan charged in and took a fantastic low catch. Even without Bumrah, India would almost certainly be too good. With him…
3rd over: New Zealand 32-1 (Seifert 20, Ravindra 1)
WICKET! New Zealand 31-1 (Allen c Tilak b Axar 9)
Finn Allen doesn’t have a great record against left-arm spin, so Axar Patel is going to get an early bowl. The tactic works straight away: after munching a bounday down the ground, Allen picks out Tilak Varma at long-on. That’s a big wicket.
2nd over: New Zealand 25-0 (Seifert 20, Allen 4) Hardik Pandya’s first over disappears for 21. Tim Seifert gets off the mark with back-to-back sixes, a mighty pull and an outrageous fall-forward scoop. A length outswinger is battered past mid-off for four, and he finishes the over by almost taking Hardik’s noggin off with another ferocious boundary. New Zealand won’t die wondering.
“The only parallel challenge I can think of is Uruguay winning the football World Cup against Brazil in the Maracanã in 1950,” says Paul Griffin. “Brazil were leading at half way then too, but I just can’t see it.”
Who’s the Kiwi Ghiggia?
1st over: New Zealand 4-0 (Seifert 0, Allen 3) Finn Allen, who blasted that amazing century in the semi-final, is dropped second ball on nought! He launched Arshdeep a million miles in the air and was put down by Dube, who was backpedalling desperately – I’m not sure which fielding position he was in – and barely laid a hand on the ball. That was a pretty tough chance because it went so high. Dube has gone off the field to receive treatment.
New Zealand will want a fast start but they should also remember that India scored 12 off the first two overs, then 191 off the next 13.
“This final reminds me of the 2003 ODI WC final – Aus vs India,” writes Sujit. “My favourite Indian white-ball team (still), doing so well till the final and then deciding to bowl first. Getting monstered by the all-timer from Ponting. No shame in getting beaten by that team but still, the memories are still there…”
That’s a great comparison. Australia’s score of 359 for 2 from 50 overs felt like something from another planet. A few months later, English cricket introduced an experiment called Twenty 20.
Here come the players. New Zealand have two chances of victory, and slim’s whereabouts are unknown.
New Zealand need 256 to win
20th over: India 255-5 (Tilak 8, Dube 26) India did well to reach 250. It was thanks to Shivam Dube, who pummelled 24 from Neesham’s final over. It started when Santner dropped a very tough diving chance at long-off, then accidentally headbutted the ball for four as he fell to earth.
Dube pulled a massive six, drove another over extra cover and pulled a one-bounce four round the corner. He turned down a single off the penultimate ball, then justified that decision by slapping four more through extra cover.
Dube finishes with 26 not out from 8 balls. India have scored 508 in 40 overs across the semi-final and final of a World Cup. And New Zealand need another 33-ball hundred from Finn Allen.
19th over: India 231-5 (Tilak 8, Dube 2) This has been an admirable fightback from New Zealand, who have taken four for 28 in the last four overs. At one stage India looked on course to make 300; now they’ll do well to reach 250.
WICKET! India 226-5 (Pandya c Santner b Henry 18)
Pandya calls for some magic spray between overs – not for an injury, but to improve his grip on the bat. It seems to work when he smears a full toss for six. But then he top-edges the next delivery high in the air and is taken by Santner. Pandya, who couldn’t get going at all, made 18 from 13 balls.
18th over: India 220-4 (Pandya 12, Tilak 5) Neesham, on a hat-trick from the previous over, is driven safely to mid-off by Pandya. No hat-trick but every dot ball is precious.
Pandya and Varma are struggling to time the ball, maybe trying a bit too hard. Pandya eventually gets his first boundary with a slap towards cow corner that just evades the flying Phillips. Not even he could turn that into a catching opportunity.
17th over: India 211-4 (Pandya 4, Tilak 4) Almost another wicket when Varma is dropped by Allen, a tough low chance at backward point off Duffy. Allen has hurt his thumb, which is already heavily strapped.
A good over for New Zealand, seven from it. If they can keep India to 240…
“How many is enough?” writes Stuart Webb. “Clearly declaration batting by India now, so call ‘em in at the end of the 18th over?”