Ahmedabad: Suryakumar Yadav’s team, easily India’s greatest T20 outfit ever, created history on Sunday with an unprecedented third World Cup win, clinically demolishing a lacklustre New Zealand by 96 runs with an awe-inspiring batting performance and laser-precise bowling.
Suryakumar’s men became the first men’s international team to win successive World T20 titles and also the first to claim the trophy on home turf.
Sanju Samson (89 off 46 balls) and Abhishek Sharma (52 off 21 balls) added 92 in Powerplay and 98 for the opening stand after a tactical blunder by Black Caps skipper Mitchell Santner led to a record score of 255 for 5.
Having misread the pitch, Santner brought medium pacer Jacob Duffy dropping the useful off-spinner Cole McConchie, which proved to be decisive in the final outcome.
In-front of 86,000 fans, the chase was out of question as New Zealand huffed and puffed its way to 159 all out as Suryakumar, the man from Mumbai’s Chembur, etched his name alongside Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rohit Sharma in the record books.
“Champions! This remarkable triumph reflects exceptional skills, determination and teamwork. They have shown outstanding grit through the tournament. This victory has filled every Indian heart with pride and joy. Well done, Team India!” posted Prime Minister Narendra Modi on X within minutes of the triumph.
No credit will be enough for mostly under-fire Gautam Gambhir, who became the first coach to guide the team to two T20 World titles.
Following the demolition act with the bat, Jasprit Bumrah’s artistry was good enough to dash any little hopes that New Zealand players might just have harboured at the back of their minds.
Bumrah was unreal as ever with figures of 4-0-15-4, adding to the mythical story of his career which will become folklore in years to come.
As far-fetched as it might sound, the current Indian T20 team under Gambhir’s coaching has had the aura of USA’s ‘Dream Team’ filled with the biggest of NBA stars like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird that won the 1992 Barcelona Olympics gold medal.
Just like that team, this Indian T20 outfit, filled with IPL’s richest stars, has an air of invincibility around it. The side never seemed like losing the tournament in which it was the runaway favourite even before a ball had been bowled.
If the 2007 T20 World Cup victory was a watershed moment for Indian cricket, which gave birth to a behemoth like the IPL, the 2024 T20 World Cup win was a soothing balm to the heartbreak of the 2023 ODI World Cup final loss.
The 2026 title triumph is an assertion that in talent, India are light years ahead of other teams. This edition was never about a perfect campaign but always about finding an individual who would win it for the team.
Abhishek had a very poor tournament but redeemed himself in the final. Samson’s career was on the line before he played the most defining innings of his career.
The ‘crazy diamond’ called Bumrah bowled those block-hole deliveries whenever the team asked and Axar Patel took those crazy catches which became a game-changer.
Ishan Kishan was the sheet anchor in every game and the skipper was the binding glue with Gambhir being the back-room brain that the team needed.
The team bond was evident and the players had each other’s backs when one of the mates was sinking.
Both Suryakumar and Gambhir can claim credit for taking Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s champion team to the next level.
When India batted, Samson scarred an awestruck New Zealand in the company of an equally destructive Abhishek, who saved his best for the last in India’s record-breaking total.
And if that wasn’t enough Ishan Kishan (54 off 25 balls) proved that even three can tango together as India’s top three, in a superlative display, stunned New Zealand.
Abhishek took full advantage of Mitchell Santner’s tactical harakiri with a 21-ball-52 but Samson’s muscular effort — a dazzling 89 off 46 balls, which was a union of beastly power and silken grace –, will be remembered for the times to come.
There were eight sixes — a few over long-on, a couple over square leg, down the ground, and over long-off.
Samson made Rachin Ravindra’s left-arm spin, Lockie Ferguson (0/48 in 2 overs) and Matt Henry’s (0/49 in 4 overs) medium pace bowling look pedestrian. It was a massacre of a good bowling attack.
After match-winning efforts against the West Indies and England, Kerala’s favourite son finally silenced the Doubting Thomases, who questioned his credentials over the past decade.
After a series of flop shows and his place in the side being debated from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, Abhishek finally came good with liberal help from New Zealand pacers, who handed the advantage to the southpaw on a platter.
An 18-ball-50 with his signature straight sixes, and familiar bat swing, the Punjab man enjoyed the rub of the green under the floodlit Ahmedabad skyline.
Jacob Duffy’s (0/42 in 3 overs) friendly medium pace became cannon fodder for Abhishek as he smashed five of his half a dozen boundaries off him.
In case of Matt Henry (1/49 in four overs), once Samson smacked him for a six slightly wide off long-on, there was no looking back. With as many as 92 runs in the powerplay, India had seized the decisive advantage.
After Rachin Ravindra (1/32 in 2 overs) removed Abhishek after a 98-run opening stand off 43 balls, Kishan kept the tempo with four sixes and as many boundaries.
President Murmu congratulates team India on T20 title
President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday congratulated the Indian cricket team for winning the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, and said that every single player, the entire management and the support staff deserve the highest praise for this collective triumph.
India has the proud distinction of being the only country to win the T20 World Cup three times. It is also the only team to win the cup twice in a row, she said in a post on X.
“This brings immense joy and pride to our cricket loving people. It is also a marker of the rich talent pool we have among our youth in diverse fields,” Murmu said.
India produced a batting spectacle of rare ferocity to overwhelm New Zealand by 96 runs in the summit clash and defend the T20 World Cup title after posting a record total in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Heartiest congratulations to Team India, which scaled several peaks of history by winning the T20 World Cup emphatically, the President said.
“Every single player, entire management and the support staff deserve the highest praise for this collective triumph. I wish our cricket team sustained glory in the future,” she added.
‘Remarkable triumph’: PM Modi congratulates Indian team for winning T20 World Cup
New Delhi, Mar 8 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday congratulated the Indian team on winning the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup and said the remarkable triumph reflects exceptional skills, determination and teamwork.
India won the T20 World Cup, defeating New Zealand by 96 runs in the final held in Ahmedabad.
“Champions! Congratulations to the Indian team on winning the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup! This remarkable triumph reflects exceptional skills, determination and teamwork. They have shown outstanding grit through the tournament,” Modi said in a post on ‘X’.
The prime minister said this victory has filled every Indian heart with pride and joy.
“Well done, Team India!” he said.
HM Shah congratulates Team India for winning T20 World Cup
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday congratulated Indian Men’s cricket team for spectacular victory in T20 World Cup “making every Indian proud”.
In a message posted on ‘X’, the home minister said, “What a victory!! Hats-off to World Champion #TeamIndia.”
“Your exceptional performance throughout the tournament and the vigorous display of mettle has brought glory and pride for the nation. Congratulations to the entire team for making every Indian proud. #T20WorldCup #INDvNZ,” he said.
Rahul, Kharge hail Team India’s T20 WC triumph
The Congress on Sunday congratulated the Indian cricket team for winning the T20 World Cup title, with Rahul Gandhi saying the victory gave the nation yet another unforgettable moment to celebrate.
India produced a batting spectacle of rare ferocity to overwhelm New Zealand by 96 runs in the summit clash and defend the T20 World Cup title after posting a record total in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
“Champions once again! A magnificent victory for our Men in Blue with a special mention to Sanju Samson and Jaspreet Bumrah for their remarkable performance throughout the tournament,” Gandhi said on X.
“Congratulations to Team India on retaining the trophy at home and giving the nation yet another unforgettable moment to celebrate,” he said.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also hailed the Indian team’s performance. “Many congratulations to Team India on a magnificent victory over New Zealand in the #T20WorldCup Final,” he said on X.
Kharge said 140 crore Indians are immensely proud tonight.
“Captain Suryakumar Yadav led with authority and belief. Sanju Samson rose as the saviour of the final, while Ishan Kishan delivered as the unsung hero. Brilliant contributions from Hardik Pandya, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Abhishek Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah powered this historic triumph. I wish the entire team a bright future ahead,” he said.
The Congress, from its official X handle, said, “History Repeated. History Defeated. World Champions, again. India emerged champions by defeating New Zealand in the finals of the T20 World Cup by 96 runs.”
The party added, “In the process, the boys in blue have rewritten history, becoming the first country to win both consecutive as well as a home World Cup. Congratulations, India.”
