AHMEDABAD, India, CMC – Defending champions India romped to a record third T20 World Cup title on the back of a historic batting performance and sensational bowling by Jasprit Bumrah in a dominant 96-run victory over New Zealand here on Sunday.
Buoyed by over 100, 000 supporters who packed into the Narendra Modi Stadium, India’s top order produced a mesmerising display of power hitting to compile a mammoth 255 for five in their 20 overs, the highest total in a T20 World Cup final.
The home side was led by Player-of-the-Tournament Sanju Samson, who smashed 89 off 46 balls – his third consecutive half century – with Ishan Kishan blasting 54 off 25 balls and Abhishek Sharma 52 from 21 balls.
Player-of-the-Match Jasprit Bumrah then claimed 4-15 from his four overs, while left-arm spinner Axar Patel grabbed three wickets to cripple New Zealand’s run chase and eventually bowl them out for 159 in 19 overs, with the contest long decided.
No one could have predicted the carnage that would follow after Samson and Sharma carefully navigated the first two overs, which yielded just 12 runs.
What unfolded afterwards was chaotic, as the two bludgeoned 80 runs off the next four overs to end the Powerplay on 92 without loss, the sixth highest in T20I history.
During that partnership, Sharma brought up his half-century in just 18 balls, while hitting six fours and three sixes, much to the delight of the home crowd.
Left-arm spinner Rachin Ravindra broke the partnership six runs later by having Sharma caught behind for 52, but New Zealand got no reprieve with Kishan’s entry.
Together with Samson, who brought up his half-century off 33 balls, the pair plundered 105 runs in just eight overs to carry India past the 200-run mark in the 15th over.
New Zealand staged a fightback, with pacer James Neesham snaring the wickets of Samson, who hit eight sixes and five fours, Kishan (four sixes and four fours), and captain Suryakumar Yadav for a duck, in the 16th over, to reduce the home side to 204 for four.
But Shivam Dube’s late cameo of 26 off eight balls ensured India passed 250 to leave New Zealand with the herculean task of scoring at 12.80 runs an over.
The Kiwis got off to an encouraging start, with Finn Allen and Tim Seifert adding 31 runs inside three overs, before the former hit Patel straight into the hands of long on.
From thereon, they lost wickets at regular intervals to find themselves 72 for five in the ninth over, with Seifert’s knock of 52 off 26 balls being the lone bright spark.
Captain Mitchell Santner scored 43 from 35 balls, but it was never going to be enough as the visitors fell well short of their target.
With the result, India becomes the first country to win the T20 World Cup three times, breaking a tie with the West Indies and England.
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