India thrashed New Zealand by 96 runs to become the first team to retain the T20 World Cup and the first to win it for a third time on a night of wild celebration at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Sanju Samson (89) led an extraordinary top-order assault in which the top three batsmen all scored half centuries as India piled up a record total of 255-5 before dismissing New Zealand for a meagre 159 in reply as the hosts and strong tournament favourites fulfilled all the expectations of their millions of supporters.
𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐓𝐒 🇮🇳📚
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) March 8, 2026
India are the first nation to win back-to-back Men's #T20WorldCup titles 🏆🏆#SSCricket pic.twitter.com/p5qK6QIAf3
Samson matched the 89 he scored against England in the semifinal with his runs coming from just 46 balls and containing five fours and eight sixes but fellow opener Abhishek Sharma (52 from 21 balls) and Ishan Kishan (54 from 25) scored even more quickly as the defending champions charged to 191-1 after 14 overs, already the highest score in a T20 World Cup final.
Another special knock added to the collection 👏
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 8, 2026
Sanju Samson lit up the grand finale for #TeamIndia 🇮🇳
Updates ▶️ https://t.co/5LXBod8bl1#T20WorldCup | #Final | #MenInBlue | #INDvNZ | @IamSanjuSamson pic.twitter.com/M3GTfJBxLT
Only Tim Seifert (52 from 26 balls) reached double figures among the Black Caps' top five batsmen as the unrelenting pressure mounted.
Left-arm spinner Axar Patel (3-0-27-3) removed the dangerous Finn Allen (9) and Glenn Phillips (5) after Jasprit Bumrah’s infamous slower ball had coaxed Rachin Ravindra (1) into a chip to cover.
Bumrah was as imperious as always with 4-0-15-3 as he dismantled the tail.
Daryl Mitchell (17) hit two of his first four balls for six but by then the required rate was already close to 17 runs per over and, at 72-5, the final 10 overs were little more than a victory parade despite some defiant six-hitting from captain Mitch Santner in his 43 from 35 balls.
India became the first team to retain the title and the first to win three T20 World Cups.
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 8, 2026
SWASHBUCKLING BATTING
Abhishek’s swashbuckling innings containing six fours and three sixes ended when he chased a wide delivery from spinner Ravindra (2-0-32-1) and edged a drive to ‘keeper Seifert but at 203-1 with five overs remaining a total of 280 seemed not only possible but likely.
But Jimmy Neesham claimed three wickets at the cost of just one run in the 16th to haul a shell-shocked New Zealand vaguely back into the contest.
Samson drilled a high full toss to long off and Ishan, with a quartet of fours and sixes, flicked another full toss to the legside boundary.
Captain Suryakumar Yadav (0) paddle-swept the final ball of the over to deep backward square leg where Ravindra claimed a brilliant, diving catch.
Hardik Pandya’s promotion to No 4 yielded just 18 from 13 balls but India’s batting depth was much in evidence as Shivam Dube smashed a breath-taking 26* from just eight balls with three fours and two sixes.
Neesham’s first two overs earned him 2-13 but he finished with a more bruising 4-0-46-3.
Even more bruised was paceman Lockie Ferguson whose two overs were despatched for an eye-watering 24 runs apiece while Jacob Duffy (3-0-42-0) and even the usually tidy Matt Henry’s solitary success came at a cost of 49 runs.
The Black Caps required 117 from the final five overs with just four wickets remaining, a definition of cricketing futility.
For once in this format, the winners were able to cruise and enjoy the occasion.
Nobody could possibly doubt India’s worthiness as champions.
Apart from a 76-run loss to South Africa in the first Super Eight match, they were increasingly imperious throughout the tournament confirming their status as one of, if not the best T20 squad of all time.
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 8, 2026
INDIA: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan (wkt), Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh.
NEW ZEALAND: Tim Seifert (wkt), Finn Allan, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner (captain), Jacob Duffy, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson.