Ahmedabad jinx broken as India become first team to win three T20 World Cups; Bumrah, Varun top wicket-taking chart

India produced a dominant all-round performance to defeat New Zealand by 96 runs in the final of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday. After posting a massive 255/5 in their 20 overs, India bowled out New Zealand for 159 in 19 overs to seal a memorable victory and lift the trophy in front of a packed home crowd.

India became the first team to defend the T20 World Cup title, and that too at home.

Samson, Abhishek and Kishan power India to record total

India got off to a flying start thanks to Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson. The opening pair added 92 runs in the powerplay and put the New Zealand bowlers under tremendous pressure. Abhishek was the aggressor early on, smashing 52 off just 21 balls before being dismissed by Rachin Ravindra.

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Samson continued the charge and played one of the finest innings in a T20 World Cup final. The wicketkeeper-batter smashed 89 off 46 balls, hitting five fours and eight sixes to keep India in complete control of the innings. Ishan Kishan added further momentum in the middle overs with a brilliant 54 from 25 balls.

India briefly lost a couple of quick wickets in the middle overs as Suryakumar Yadav fell for a duck and Hardik Pandya made 18 from 13 balls. However, Shivam Dube finished the innings strongly with a quickfire 26 not out from just eight balls, helping India reach a huge total of 255/5.

Indian bowlers dominate the chase

Chasing a daunting target of 256, New Zealand never managed to put pressure on India. Tim Seifert tried to give his team a quick start with an aggressive 52 off 26 balls, but wickets kept falling at the other end. Axar Patel played a key role and Jasprit Bumrah then produced a superb spell in the death overs, finishing with outstanding figures of 4/15 in four overs.

Varun Chakravarthy and Hardik Pandya also chipped in with a wicket each as India wrapped up the innings in 19 overs. In the end, New Zealand were bowled out for 159, handing India a comprehensive 96-run victory in the final. The win capped off an outstanding campaign for India, who dominated the tournament with both bat and ball. Bumrah and Varun also finished as the top wicket-takers in the tournament with 14 wickets each.

With this, India also put an end to their long-standing jinx in Ahmedabad. The team had suffered a heartbreaking defeat at the Narendra Modi Stadium in the 2023 ODI World Cup final against Australia, with fans calling it an unlucky ground. However, the dominant win over New Zealand in the T20 World Cup 2026 final finally changed that narrative. India have also become the first team to win three T20 World Cups after lifting the trophy in 2007, 2024 and 2026.