Abhishek Sharma plays a catch during the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup final cricket match between India and New Zealand, at the Narendra Modi Stadium, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. (PTI photo)
Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson gave India a strong start in the men’s T20 World Cup final against New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday.The two openers added 98 runs for the first wicket, creating the first 50-plus opening partnership in a men’s T20 World Cup final.
The previous highest opening stand in a final was 48, scored by Kamran Akmal and Shahzaib Hasan for Pakistan against Sri Lanka at Lord’s Cricket Ground in 2009.
Extra trains and pujas: How India is preparing for the T20 World Cup final
Abhishek had not scored many goals earlier in the tournament but delivered in the final, while Samson continued his run. Both openers scored 92 powerplay runs, the highest powerplay score in any T20 World Cup match.See also: India vs New Zealand live score of T20 World Cup 2026 final Abhishek raised his fifty in the final off just 18 balls and was eventually dismissed on 52.
Highest PP grades in T20 toilets92/0 – IND vs New Zealand, Ahmedabad, 2026 final92/1 – Wisconsin vs AFG, Bridgetown, 202491/1 – NED vs IRE, Sylhet, 201489/3 – England vs. South Africa, Mumbai, 201686/1 – IND v. NAM, Delhi, 2026Follow liveEarlier, New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner won the toss and elected to bowl.Before the match, MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma brought the T20 World Cup trophy to the stadium, eliciting a loud response from the crowd.Dhoni led India to their first T20 World Cup title in 2007, while Rohit led the team to their second title in the 2024 edition.
New Zealand reached the final after defeating South Africa in the semi-final. India secured a seven-run win over England in Mumbai to reach the final.In T20 World Cup meetings between the two sides, New Zealand has the advantage having won in 2007, 2016 and 2021.India will be aiming for several achievements in the final. The team aims to become the first host nation to win the T20 World Cup, the first team to defend the title and the first team to win the tournament three times.For New Zealand, one of the challenges is containing the Indian batting order and dealing with Jasprit Bumrah’s bowling.India captain Suryakumar Yadav said: “Happy to bat first because we did well. It’s always good to get a run on the board in the semi-final or the final. This is history now, a new World Cup, and we’re excited about it. It’s looking full on already, and this is just bowling time, and hopefully we can give them a good show. Same team for us.”“We’ll play first. He looks very good. We’ll see if he does anything and try to restrict them to a chaseable result. The boys are good. That’s why we play. It happened. A great occasion, a semi-final and the guys will gain confidence from that. This is the biggest stage, everyone is ready,” said Santner. “No, McConchie, Duffy’s playing.”India is playing the T20 World Cup final for the fourth time, the most by any team. Of the previous nine finals, six have been won by the chasing team.
Of the remaining three, India have won twice – in 2007 and 2024 – both in matches decided in the final.differenceIndia (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dubey, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah.New Zealand (Playing XI): Tim Seifert (wk), Finn Allen, Rashin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Darryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner (c), Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy.