India created history at the Narendra Modi Stadium on March 8 as they beat New Zealand by 96 runs in the Final of the T20 World Cup 2026. It was a dominant display by the Men in Blue at home as they were in control throughout the game. New Zealand won the toss and opted to bowl first as Santner reckoned it was a good wicket for batting. India started off really well and smashed 92/0 in the power play. Abhishek Sharma returned to form as he smashed a 18 ball half century while Sanju Samson continued his glorious form.
Abhishek Sharma fell to Rachin Ravindra soon after he completed his fifty but there was no respite as Ishan Kishan came in and started playing aggressively from ball 1. Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan stitched a massive partnership. Samson got to his half century of 33 balls while Kishan smashed a 23 ball fifty. Sanju Samson was hitting boundaries for fun and was finally dismissed for 89 by Jimmy Neesham. That over pulled things back for New Zealand as Jimmy Neesham picked up three wickets in the over while giving away only one run.
India lost Kishan and Suryakumar in the same over of Neesham. In the end, India found their flourish as the final over went for plenty and Shivam Dube played a very good cameo as India ended with 255/5 at the end of the first innings. It was a massive total and also the first time in the history of the T20 World Cup that top three batters scored half centuries.
In the chase, Shivam Dube dropped a catch of Finn Allen in the very first over but that did not cost much as India picked up both Allen and Rachin quickly. Tim Seifert scored a half century but found no support from the other batters. Varun Chakravarthy came into the attack and scalped the wicket of Seifert as Ishan Kishan took a blinder. Axar picked up three wickets as New Zealand were bowled out for 159. Sanju Samson was the player of the match for his terrific innings.
