India lifted their third ICC Men's T20 World Cup title by defeating New Zealand by 96 runs in the final of the just-concluded tournament at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, March 8. Winning the toss, New Zealand opted to bowl first in a move that backfired spectacularly. The Kiwi seamers bowled poor lines and lengths to allow the Indians to get off to a good start. Abhishek Sharma (52) and Sanju Samson (89) made good use of this and helped their team's cause tremendously.
New Zealand's inept nature on the field was shown by the figures of seamer Lockie Ferguson, who conceded 48 runs in just two overs in the powerplay, and was not asked to bowl again. India scored 92 runs without losing a wicket in this phase of the game. Ishan Kishan, who came in at number three, also scored 54 before slogger Shivam Dube finished India's innings off with an 8-ball 26 not out, hitting three boundaries and two sixes.
The Kiwis did not have much to cheer for in the second innings since they lost Finn Allen in just the third over to Axar Patel. The opener, who scored a century against South Africa in the semifinal, was fooled by the left-arm spinner and ended up lobbing a catch to Tilak Varma. Tim Seifert, New Zealand's wicketkeeper-opener, scored a bright 52 off just 26 balls, but a long hop from Varun Chakaravarthy got his wicket, thanks to Ishan Kishan taking a good catch at deep midwicket. Only Mitchell Santner (43) offered some resistance, as all other Kiwi batters folded up quickly.
Jasprit Bumrah was India's best bowler, with figures of 4-15, and was rightly awarded the Player of the Match, even though three of his scalps included those of non-pure batters. Left-arm spinner Patel also returned with three wickets. Both these players, who hail from Ahmedabad, performed extremely well on such a big night on their home ground. India became the first team ever to successfully defend their T20 World Cup title. The Men in Blue also became the first side to win it on home soil.