Indian batters punished the New Zealand bowlers as the Men in Blue scored in 20 overs in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 final being played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
India's top three of Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan, all hammered breathtaking half-centuries. While Abhishek did the bulk of scoring in the early part of the innings, Samson and Kishan dominated in the second half.
Abhishek raced to a half-century in mere mere 18 balls, the quickest half-century of the tournament. Riding on his explosive strokeplay at the top of the innings, India stormed to 92/0 after six overs, the highest Powerplay total recorded in the tournament.
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His innings comprised of six fours and three sixes. The left-hander was eventually dismissed by all-rounder Rachin Ravindra as he chose to hammer a wide delivery but edged the ball to wicketkeeper Tim Seifert. Despite getting out, he gave India the start they wanted.
The world No. 1 T20I batter bounced back in style after enduring a relatively quiet tournament. Abhishek had a forgettable start, getting dismissed for a duck in each of his first three matches. He briefly rediscovered his rhythm with a brisk 55 off 30 balls against Zimbabwe. However, the left-hander could not build on that momentum, managing scores of just 9 and 10 in the following two matches before finally delivering a statement performance.
Ahead of the final, there were clamours of Abhishek getting dropped in favour of Rinku Singh. But Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav reposed his faith on the youngster by retaining him in the playing 11.
Once Abhishek got out, Samson took control of the proceedings as he kept sending the ball to every corner of the ground. He plundered his way to 89 off 46 balls, notching a third successive half-century. His innings was studded with five fours and eight sixes.
The right-handed batter now holds the record of the highest score by a batter in a T20 World Cup final match. The 31-year-old headed into the final on the back of 97 not out against the West Indies and a knock of 89 versus England in the semi-final.
Samson got good company in Kishan who hit 52 runs in 21 deliveries.
India were motoring along but suffered three setbacks in the 16th over as James Neesham removed Samson, Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav in six deliveries.
Shivam Dube blasted 24 runs in the final over as he cameo of 26 in 8 balls provided the finishing touches to the innings. The score of 255/5 is now the highest total in a T20 World Cup final, the highest score at the stadium and the third highest total by a team in the history of the tournament.
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