India Crowned T20 World Champions Again with Record Victory

Darwin, 09 March: India have been crowned champions of the T20 World Cup once again after defeating New Zealand by a massive 96-run margin in the final.

With this victory, India became the first team to win the title consecutively and also set another record by becoming the first team in history to win the tournament three times.

England and the West Indies have each won the title twice, while Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Australia have lifted the trophy once.

New Zealand collapse in chase
Chasing a huge target in the final, New Zealand got off to a poor start. Within the first six overs of the powerplay, three batters had already returned to the pavilion, and another wicket fell soon after.

Before getting out, Finn Allen scored 9, Rachin Ravindra 1, Glenn Phillips 5, and Mark Chapman 3.

Despite the regular fall of wickets, opener Tim Seifert continued attacking. He scored a quick 52 runs from 26 balls, hitting two fours and five sixes before being dismissed. Daryl Mitchell added 17 runs.

Apart from captain Mitchell Santner, no other batter made a significant contribution. Santner scored 43 off 35 balls, while James Neesham (8), Matt Henry (0), Lockie Ferguson (6) and Jacob Duffy (3) were dismissed cheaply.

New Zealand were eventually bowled out for 159 runs. India’s most successful bowler was Jasprit Bumrah, who took 4 wickets for just 15 runs.

Explosive start by India

Earlier, New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner won the toss in Ahmedabad and chose to field first.

India’s openers began cautiously for the first two overs before launching an aggressive attack on the Kiwi bowlers. With a series of boundaries and sixes, India raced to 92 runs without losing a wicket in the first six overs.

Abhishek Sharma reached his fifty in just 18 balls, but was dismissed soon after scoring 51 off 21 balls.

Sanju Samson then dominated the innings and looked on course for a century after reaching his half-century. However, like the previous two matches, he fell short of a hundred, scoring 89 from 46 balls, hitting five fours and eight sixes.

Ishan Kishan also made a rapid 54 off 25 balls, including four fours and four sixes.
However, captain Suryakumar Yadav was dismissed for 0 on the first ball, while Hardik Pandya scored 18 off 13 balls.

Towards the end, Shivam Dube played a blistering cameo, remaining unbeaten on 26 from just 8 balls, while Tilak Varma stayed not out on 8 from 6 balls.
India finished with a huge total of 255 for 5 in 20 overs.

For New Zealand, James Neesham was the most successful bowler with three wickets, while Matt Henry and Rachin Ravindra picked up one wicket each.