Khel Vaani | T20 World Cup: How Men In Blue Script History, Defeat History

In a match that saw tumbling of records, the men in blue exorcised all the demons and not only scripted history but even defeated history

Sunday, March 26, 2026, when the Indian captain Surya Kumar Yadav lost the toss and India was put to bat first in the ICC T20 Cricket final match against their old nemesis, New Zealand, the key question in the minds of 100,000 strong spectators present in Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, was whether the pre-tournament favourite Indian team would get past their old nemesis, the Kiwis.

In their three previous encounters before yesterday’s final (in the 2007, 2016, and 2021 editions of the tournament), the Indian team had been squarely defeated by New Zealand.

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Against the Tide of History

But this was not the only problem before the men in blue. Before yesterday, no team had secured back-to-back summit wins in the ICC T20 Cricket World Cup, and no host country had won the tournament. Also, no team had previously won the T20 Cricket World Cup three times.

Before the 2026 T20 World Cup final, the Narendra Modi Stadium was a venue of traumatic, high-profile losses for India, particularly the following two in recent memory:

2023 ICC One Day Cricket World Cup Final (Nov 19, 2023): India faced a heartbreaking 6-wicket loss to Australia. After being asked to bat, India was bowled out for 240, failing to capitalise on a massive home advantage with over one lakh in attendance.

2026 T20 World Cup – Super Eight Group Stage (Feb 22, 2026): India suffered a humiliating 76-run defeat to South Africa. The Indian batting order collapsed under pressure, managing only 57 runs at the halfway mark in a chase of 188.

Further, the venue also had a reputation for “spongy" bounce in the first innings, often benefiting the chasing team, making it a difficult, pressure-packed stadium for the Indian team in title deciders.

Moreover, despite coming into the final with two back-to-back scores of 250-plus against West Indies and England, the Indian team had major worries about their ace batter Abhishek Sharma, who had struggled throughout the tournament. Also, the bowling unit had failed to show the same coherence as the batters, which had given a scare in the semi-final against England.

But the final on Sunday was special. To begin with, it saw the resurgence of vintage Abhishek Sharma and his special first-wicket partnership with the man of the tournament, Sanju Samson, which broke many records along the way.

The gulf in big-match experience was evident, as Samson and Abhishek took the attack to their rivals from the get-go. India hit top gear in the fourth over as they clobbered 24 runs in the fourth over.

The duo recorded the first 50-run opening partnership in a T20 World Cup final. Samson and Abhishek took on the Kiwis’ new-ball bowlers to the mat as they brought up their fifty-run stand in just four overs. The Indian pair had already smashed five fours and three sixes by that point.

The previous highest opening partnership in a T20 World Cup final was 48, by Pakistan’s Kamran Akmal and Shahzaib Hasan in 2009, against Sri Lanka, and the previous best by an Indian pair was 25, by Gautam Gambhir and Yusuf Pathan in 2007, against Pakistan.

And the 50-run record opening partnership was just the beginning. Samson and Sharma carted the ball all around the park to pile 92 runs in the first six overs. It is the highest powerplay score of this World Cup, and the joint-highest in T20 World Cup history.

Also, though he wasn’t at his best at the start of the World Cup, Sharma rose to the occasion in the final, bringing up the fastest 50 of the tournament in just 18 balls with the help of six fours and three sixes. India also produced a 98-run first-wicket partnership, their highest in the tournament.

The Breakthrough that Was Not

Ravindra provided his team with the breakthrough on his very first ball of the match as he made Abhishek Sharma nick to the wicketkeeper. However, the 98-run opening stand, with Sharma contributing 52 off 21, was all that India needed for their big day.

New Zealand hoped that after the fall of Sharma, the Indian juggernaut would slow down. It was not to be, as even after losing a wicket, India did not let New Zealand get a toehold in the match. Samson and Ishan Kishan went hell for leather, putting on 105 runs in just 48 balls for the second wicket.

Samson powered India in the final, scoring a brilliant unbeaten 97 off 50 balls against the West Indies in the virtual quarter-final and a blistering 89 off 42 balls against England in the semi-final. Clearly, the law of averages was against Sanju in the all-important final. But the sizzling Samson was on fire from the word go, and he brought out his third half-century in a row, this time off 36 balls. It was another stunning innings by the right-hand batter, who jumped on the opportunity after returning to the playing XI. He struck five fours and eight sixes for 89 off just 46 balls.

Samson became the third player to slam a half-century in the semi-final as well as the final of a T20 World Cup. Samson also became only the second batter, after Mahela Jayawardene in 2010, to notch three successive 80+ scores in the T20 World Cup.

Return of the Prodigal

Ishan Kishan, the prodigal, was on the bench for 785 days after asking for a time-out for a personal reason, which cost him the BCCI contract. He returned to the India team solely based on his swashbuckling performance in the domestic Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament.

And what a return it has been!

In the 2026 T20 World Cup final against New Zealand, Ishan Kishan scored a rapid fire 54 off 25 balls. This was his third 50-score in the tournament, in which he scored a total of 317 runs, becoming one of the key pillars of India’s title defence in the tournament.

New Zealand’s decision to go with a pace-heavy attack in Ahmedabad backfired. While Henry lost his composure early on, Lockie Ferguson was taken for special treatment by the Indian batters, as the plundered 48 runs off his two overs.

But the temporary smile returned to the face of Kiwis, when James Neesham in the 16th over of the Indian innings sent Samson, Kishan and Surya Kumar Yadav (Yadav to a brilliant catch by Ravindra as India slipped from 203/1 to 204/4 in the same over).

Then returned a brief lull in the India batting story. But soon, the scoring picked up pace again in the last two overs. Shivam Dube struck three fours and two sixes to plunder 24 runs off the last over and take India past the 250-mark. In total, India clobbered 19 fours and 18 sixes to earn 184 runs in boundaries.

Never Happened Before

255 for 5 India’s total against New Zealand in the final in Ahmedabad is the highest by any team in a knockout (or play-off) match in T20Is. Their 253 for 7 against England in the semi-final was the previous highest. It is also the third highest by any team in a men’s T20 World Cup. Not only did India become the first country in the world to record three successive 250+ runs scores in any edition of the T20 World.

While the top three batsmen and a cameo by Shivam Dube set the stage for bowlers, New Zealand were found wanting from the word go in their chase.

All Indian bowlers fired from the word go.

New Zealand suffered early blows as the in-form Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra and Glenn Phillips departed in quick succession to the precise bowling of Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah. Given a life earlier in the innings,

Allen was caught at long-on off Axar Patel, who was brought in early precisely to take on the explosive opener. Three balls later, Jasprit Bumrah struck and sent the left-handed Ravindra packing.

Patel, playing on his home ground, castled Phillips to reduce their rivals to 47/3. The only resistance came from Tim Seifert, who struck five sixes and two fours for a quickfire 52 off 26 balls, but Seifert fell to Varun Chakaravarthy. This wicket was the 14th of Chakaravarthy, which made him the most successful bowler of the tournament. Sole resistance came from a 52-run partnership in 28 balls by the captain, Mitchell Santner, and Daryl Mitchell, who steadied the New Zealand innings with a 52-run partnership in 28 balls.

But once that partnership was broken, the New Zealand challenge soon withered away.

While all the Indian bowlers came to the party in the final, the one who stood out was the one and only Jasprit Bumrah, who finished with jaw-dropping 4/15 in 4 overs with 12 dot balls and the local lad Axar Patel, who spun a web around the opponents to scalp 3-27 in three overs.

While there were four heroes each in the batting and the bowling side, the one who shone above all in the fielding was Ishan Kishan stationed in the deep. Kishan is the man who is normally stationed behind the wicket, but this time he returned with three spectacular catches to dismiss three dangerous Kiwi batsmen:

Rachin Ravindra: Caught by a diving Ishan off the very first ball of Bumrah. Kishan, stationed in the deep, sprinted forward and executed a full-length dive to complete the dismissal.

Tim Seifert: Caught by Ishan Kishan off the bowling of Varun Chakaravarthy. Kishan performed a “solo relay" catch near the boundary, throwing the ball up to stay inside the ropes before pouching it a second time. This wicket ended Seifert’s dangerous innings of 52 runs.

Daryl Mitchell: Caught by Ishan Kishan off the bowling of Axar Patel. Mitchell was dismissed in the 13th over (12.4) after a 52-run partnership with Mitchell Santner was broken.

These three catches effectively sealed New Zealand’s fate.

In a match that saw tumbling of records, the men in blue exorcised all the demons and not only scripted history but even defeated history. The day will remain etched in the memory of sport-loving Indians forever. All credit goes to the team, the leader, the coach, the support staff and not the least the cricket lovers from across the world, 120,000 of them in the stadium and 75 crores watching the game on TV.

(The author is a multidisciplinary thought leader with Action Bias, India-based international impact consultant, and keen watcher of changing national and international scenarios. He works as president, advisory services of consulting company BARSYL. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views)

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