Holding back Shivam Dube for SKY and Tilak Varma was massive error by India in final

India posted a huge 255/5 in 20 overs against New Zealand in the final of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 at Ahmedabad. While the total looks massive, India may have missed the chance to post an even bigger score because of their batting order decisions.

At one stage, India were scoring at a very fast rate and it looked like they would comfortably cross the 270-run mark. However, New Zealand managed to pull things back in the middle overs. One of the key reasons was India’s decision to send Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, and Tilak Varma ahead of the in-form Shivam Dube.

Dream start from Abhishek and Samson

India got a flying start thanks to Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson. The opening pair added 92 runs and put New Zealand bowlers under huge pressure in the powerplay. This is the highest powerplay score in T20 World Cup history.

Abhishek continued his aggressive form and smashed a 50 off just 18 balls before being dismissed by Rachin Ravindra for 52 in the 7th over. Samson also played a brilliant knock and brought up his fifty in 33 balls. He went on to score 89 off 46 balls.

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At one point, he even hit a hat-trick of sixes off Ravindra, keeping the momentum going and bringing up 100 sixes for India in the tournament. New Zealand pacer Lockie Ferguson had a tough outing as he was hammered for 48 runs in two overs, while captain Mitchell Santner was the only bowler who managed to keep his economy under 10 runs per over.

Glenn Phillips also bowled well in the powerplay but Santner never brought him back, which could be a costly mistake for the Kiwis if we look in hindsight.

Middle-order slowdown and Dube's fireworks

India were cruising at one stage, but the innings slowed slightly in the middle overs. Ishan Kishan kept the momentum going by scoring a 23-ball fifty, but wickets at crucial moments prevented India from completely dominating the last few overs.

Suryakumar Yadav was dismissed for a duck, while Pandya managed only 18 runs from 13 balls. Tilak was also finding it hard to hit big shots. If Dube had been promoted earlier, India might have been able to maintain the same attacking tempo and crossed 270 runs.

When Dube finally came in, he showed what India had possibly missed earlier. The left-hander smashed 26 runs off just 8 balls, including 24 runs in the final over bowled by James Neesham. His quick cameo helped India cross the 250-run mark, but many felt that if he had come earlier in the innings, India could have pushed the total closer to 270 or even 280.

Also, New Zealand did not use an off-spinner in the last five overs, which meant there was no real matchup threat against Dube. It would have made more sense for Dube to walk in before another left-hander like Tilak Varma or even SKY and Pandya.