Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: India successfully defended the T20 World Cup title by thrashing New Zealand by 96 runs in the final of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, India, on Sunday.
Batting first after New Zealand won the toss and elected to field, India posted a massive 255 runs for the loss of five wickets in 20 overs — the highest total ever recorded in a T20 World Cup final. In reply, New Zealand were bowled out for 159 in 19 overs.
With the victory, India created history by winning the T20 World Cup for the second consecutive time and becoming the first team to claim the title three times.
Sanju Samson, who scored 89 off 46 balls, and Abhishek Sharma, who added a quickfire 52 from 21 balls, gave a perfect start with the bat for the hosts. The two scored 92 runs in the power play. After Abhishek fell, Ishan Kishan made 54 off 25 balls. Hardik Pandey scored 18, while Shivam Dube made a not-out 26 off eight balls.
James Neesham claimed three wickets for New Zealand, while Matt Henry and Rachin Rabindra picked up a wicket each. Lockie Ferguson gave away 48 runs in his two-over spell.
In the chase, New Zealand struggled against India’s disciplined bowling. Jasprit Bumrah led the attack with four wickets, while Axar Patel claimed three. Hardik Pandya, Varun Chakravarthy, and Abhishek Sharma picked up one wicket each.
Tim Seifert top-scored with 52 runs, but his effort was not enough to prevent a heavy defeat as other Kiwi top-order batters fell cheaply. Finn Allen, who single-handedly decimated South Africa in the semifinal, scored 9, Rachin made 1, Glenn Philps was out for five, and Mark Chapman scored 3. Dary Mitchell (17) and Captain Mitchell Santner (43) were the only other batters who reached double digits.
India captain Suryakumar Yadav praised his team’s batting performance after the match. “I knew they had the match winners in them. The timing was perfect. Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma are top players, and we knew they would do something special, and they did it in the final,” he said.
New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner acknowledged that his team was outplayed. “Obviously, we had some challenges throughout, but at each stage we put up a good fight. Today we got outplayed by a great team in front of a great crowd,” he said.
The win also made India the first team to successfully defend the T20 World Cup title in the tournament’s history.
