Watch: Rachin Ravindra takes stunning catch to dismiss Suryakumar Yadav in T20 World Cup 2026 IND vs NZ Final

India showed an excellent display with their bats against New Zealand in the final match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The crowd present at the venue saw an attacking start by the Indian batsmen. Runs flowed quickly during the first half of the innings. The crowd was treated to a high-scoring contest from the start.

India looked completely in control after their top order dominated the Kiwi bowlers. The Indian team easily crossed the 200-run mark and seemed to have set up a huge target for the opponent. However, the stadium went into a stunned silence during the 16th over when Suryakumar Yadav was dismissed for a golden duck. 

In a dramatic turn of events, James Neesham removed the set batters Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan earlier in the over before the Indian skipper walked out and fell on his very first ball. Neesham delivered a short-of-a-length ball wide outside off, and SKY attempted his signature supla shot. He couldn't time the whip perfectly, and Rachin Ravindra executed a brilliant sliding catch at deep backward square leg, giving Neesham three wickets in a single over.

India Posts Record Total Despite Late Wickets

Earlier in the innings, Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma had laid the foundation for India’s huge total. Samson played a brilliant knock of 89 runs from 46 balls, hitting five fours and eight sixes. Abhishek Sharma supported him with a quick 52 runs off just 21 runs. This partnership gave the Indian team complete control over the game in the initial overs.

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See Also: Watch: MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma walk together with ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 trophy at Narendra Modi Stadium

Though the team suffered a sudden loss of wickets in the 16th over, the team kept the momentum going with aggressive batting in the later overs of the game. Shivam Dube gave the finishing touches to the innings with an unbeaten 26 runs off just eight runs. His late assault helped India reach a massive total of 255 for 5 in their 20 overs.

James Neesham was the standout bowler for New Zealand with figures of 3 for 46. Matt Henry picked up one wicket while Rachin Ravindra also contributed with the ball. At the innings break, New Zealand needed 256 runs to win the final. The Kiwi batters now face a huge challenge against India’s strong bowling attack.

As of writing, New Zealand are 0/0 after 0.2 overs in their chase of 256 against India in the T20 World Cup 2026 final, with Tim Seifert and Finn Allen at the crease and Arshdeep Singh opening the bowling.