Champions Again! India crush New Zealand to retain T20 World Cup ritle in historic home win
Champions Again! India crush New Zealand to retain T20 World Cup ritle in historic home win
By Nawaz Gohar ; Displaying a dominant all-round performance, India defeated New Zealand by a massive margin in the final to clinch the T20 World Cup 2026 title, successfully defending their crown.
With this victory, India has etched its name in history as the first team to win a T20 World Cup on home soil. Chasing a daunting target of 256 runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium, New Zealand’s batting lineup crumbled under the pressure of the Indian bowling attack.
The Kiwi side was bowled out for 159 runs in 19 overs. Tim Seifert was the lone fighter for New Zealand with 52 runs, while captain Mitchell Santner contributed 43.
Other notable scores included Daryl Mitchell (17) and Finn Allen (9), while James Neesham (8), Glenn Phillips (5), Jacob Duffy (3), Mark Chapman (3), and Rachin Ravindra (1) failed to make an impact. Matt Henry departed for a duck.
Jasprit Bumrah led the destruction with a fiery spell, claiming 4 wickets. Axar Patel provided excellent support with 3 scalps, while Abhishek Sharma, Hardik Pandya, and Varun Chakravarthy chipped in with one wicket each to seal the victory.
Earlier, after being invited to bat first by the New Zealand captain, India posted a mammoth total of 255/5 in their allotted 20 overs. Wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson played a pivotal role with a blistering 89 runs.
He was ably supported by Ishan Kishan (54) and Abhishek Sharma (52), both of whom scored elegant half-centuries. Hardik Pandya added 18 runs, while captain Suryakumar Yadav was dismissed for a golden duck.
Shivam Dube and Tilak Varma remained unbeaten on 26 and 8 runs, respectively. For New Zealand, James Neesham was the pick of the bowlers with 3 wickets, while Rachin Ravindra claimed one.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has set a total prize pool of $13.5 million for the 2026 T20 World Cup, a 20% increase from the 2024 edition. Winners (India) $3,000,000, Runners-up (New Zealand) $1,600,000, Semi-finalists $790,000 each, Super Eight Teams $380,000 each, Group Stage Teams $250,000 minimum.
