India became the first team to retain the T20 World Cup trophy, the first to win it on home soil and the first to claim a third world T20 crown as they defeated New Zealand by 96 runs in the T20 World Cup final in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Suryakumar Yadav became the third Indian captain to win the T20 World Cup title after MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma, who were present at the stadium to witness the occasion.
Chasing 256, New Zealand needed a record chase in their attempt to win their first World Cup title, but they were bowled out for 159 runs in 19 overs.
Tim Seifert top scored for the Kiwis with a 26-ball 52, but apart from captain Mitchell Santner’s 35-ball 43, none of the other Kiwi batsmen could stand up to some superb bowling performance by the Indians.
India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah returned with outstanding figures of 4/15 from his 4 overs as Axar Patel took 3 wickets, with Ishan Kishan taking two fantastic catches in the deep.
Earlier, India amassed a formidable 255/5 thanks to Sanju Samson’s scorching 89 off 46 balls.
A crowd of more than 100,000 people at the Narendra Modi Stadium were enthralled by five fours and eight sixes from the in-form Samson, who had struck 97 not out and 89 in his previous two innings.
India exceeded their 256 against Zimbabwe in the Super Eights thanks to Samson’s opening partnership of 98 with Abhishek Sharma, who struck 52 off 21 balls, setting the stage for the second-highest total of this edition.
India were asked to bat first and Abhishek waited for an over before launching a batting onslaught, and Samson followed suit, flaying the opposition attack to every corner of the field.
In the first six overs of the powerplay, when only two fielders are permitted beyond the inner circle, India quickly reached 92.
After Abhishek hit his second fifty of the competition, Rachin Ravindra used his left-arm spin to break the stand and dismiss the opener.
Ishan Kishan, who scored 54, joined Samson, and the two destroyed New Zealand’s bowling once more. Samson blasted Ravindra for three consecutive sixes after reaching his third consecutive fifty.
With three wickets in one over, Jimmy Neesham saved the day for New Zealand. Samson, Kishan, and captain Suryakumar Yadav were all dismissed by him; the final two were removed on consecutive balls, with the Indian captain falling for a first ball duck.
However, Shivam Dube finished with a flourish, hitting Neesham for three fours and two sixes in the 20th over as he blasted an undefeated 26 off 8 balls.
