India T20 WC: World at their feet, beat New Zealand by 96 runs in a one-sided match, no team even comes close to India

The T20 World Cup in 2024, the Champions Trophy in 2025, the Asia Cup, and now another T20 World Cup... No team has been able to perform like this in the last three years. Australia was once the dominant team in cricket, but now the Indian team has the world at its feet.

After a heartbreaking defeat to Australia at the same Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad in 2023, India never looked back, winning three ICC trophies in three consecutive years, proving to the world that they are the reigning champions of cricket.

India's strength in this sport can be gauged from the fact that on Sunday, against New Zealand, it scored the highest total in a T20 World Cup final and achieved the biggest victory in terms of runs. The Indian team won the title match in a one-sided manner by 96 runs.

India won the T20 WC title for a record third time.

The New Zealand team was nowhere near the game. Captain Suryakumar Yadav handed the 19th over to part-time bowler Abhishek Sharma, and as Tilak Verma caught Duffy off his bowling, the wounds of 2023 felt like they were being healed. The 86,000 spectators sang Vande Mataram, and hundreds of children danced inside the stadium with the tricolor. This victory gave 1.4 billion Indians another reason to love cricket.

Indian Batsmen's Fierce Performance

The Indian batsmen displayed a ferocious performance that left New Zealand's bowlers stunned. India mesmerized the crowd by posting the highest total of the T20 World Cup and the third-highest total of the overall T20 World Cup. The Indian team became the first team to score 250 or more runs three times in any tournament. India has now scored 250 or more runs four times this calendar year. No other team has achieved this feat.

The Indian batsmen's performance was such that they reached 92 in the powerplay, 150 in the 12th over, and 200 in the 15th over. It was only James Neesham who took the wickets of Sanju Samson (89), Ishan Kishan (54), and captain Surya Kumar Yadav (0) in the 16th over, that the team would have easily surpassed the 280-run mark. However, Shivam Dubey scored 24 runs in the last over, helping India reach 255 for five.

Abhishek returns to form.

The Indian team reposed its faith in Abhishek Sharma (52), who had been out of form, and he smashed the Kiwis to a half-century in just 18 balls in the final. For the first time in this World Cup, India's openers shared a partnership of more than 50 runs. After a cautious start against Glenn Phillips' off-spin, he defied any bowler and scored the fastest half-century in a T20 knockout.

This is also the fastest fifty of this World Cup. He hit the Kiwi bowlers so hard that they lost their rhythm. Their bowlers, in fear, started bowling wide after wide. The most spectacular moment came when Jacob Duffy tried to end the power play by bowling on the off side, but Abhishek kept moving forward and pulling him to the leg side. Ravindra dismissed Abhishek in his very first over.

This also showed poor captaincy on Santner's part. Abhishek has been constantly troubled by off-spinners, yet he still bowled only one over in the powerplay. Abhishek and Sanju scored just 12 runs in their first two overs, but in the next four overs, they scored 80 runs.

Amazing Sanju

Ever since Sanju Samson joined the team, the team has been winning consistently. After scoring 24, 97 not out, and 89, he then hit another half-century. He hit three consecutive sixes off Rachin Ravindra. Sanju became the third player to score fifties in both the semi-finals and finals of the T20 World Cup. Abhishek came in to bat with Shivam in this match. Abhishek tends to resort to such tricks when he's out of form. Following Abhishek Sharma's impressive fifty, Sanju reached his half-century in 33 balls. He started the innings calmly, and then the runs came in at a steady pace.

With Sanju Samson's hat-trick of sixes off Rachin Ravindra in the 14th over, India reached the milestone of 100 sixes in a single World Cup season. Sanju and Kishan shared a partnership of over 100 runs for the second wicket. Kishan completed his fifty in just 23 balls, ensuring that Abhishek's dismissal didn't impact India's score. James Neesham took two wickets off two full-tosses and three wickets in one over. First, Sanju Samson lost his wicket to a high full-toss, then Kishan lost his wicket to a low full-toss.

Captain Surya Kumar, who had performed mediocrely in this tournament, was dismissed again without scoring. He pulled him behind square on the leg side, and Rachin Ravindra took a brilliant catch. It seemed unlikely that India would be able to reach 250, but Shivam made a remarkable impact in the final over.

Bowler Becomes Warfare

Axar Patel dismissed Finn Allen, the centurion from the previous match. After this, batsmen came and went. Only Seifert managed 52 and captain Santner 43, but it was not enough. Axar Patel took three wickets, and Bumrah four, to break the Kiwis' back.

Varun had conceded 64 runs in four overs in the previous match, but coach Gautam expressed full confidence in him and Abhishek, and both proved him right. Varun took one wicket for 39 runs in three overs. The match did get heated at one point. In the 11th over, Arshdeep caught the ball on a follow-through and threw it back, which hit batsman Mitchell. He moved towards Arshdeep but the umpire intervened.