India make T20 World Cup history by thrashing New Zealand to retain trophy

India made history as the first men’s team to win back-to-back T20 World Cups with a dominant 96-run victory over New Zealand in Ahmedabad.

After being sent in to bat first, the defending champions found their feet as opening duo Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson together put on 98 runs before Samson and Ishan Kishan added 105 between them.

Sharma, Samson and Kishan all scored half-centuries before Jimmy Neesham took three wickets in the 16th over as New Zealand tried to wrestle back some form of control, but India finished on 255 for five – the highest score in a T20 World Cup final.

New Zealand were restricted in their response and although Tim Seifert top-scored with 52, Jasprit Bumrah finished with four wickets for 15 runs and Axar Patel took three wickets as India successfully defended their crown.

India reached the competition’s showpiece with victory over England in the semi-finals on Thursday, while New Zealand booked their spot with a nine-wicket triumph over South Africa.

Bidding to win their first men’s World Cup, the Black Caps won the toss and opted to field first and did well to restrain the hosts in the opening overs before Sharma and Samson started to find the boundary.

New Zealand leaked runs from wide deliveries as India strengthened their grip on the game and Sharma brought up his half-century from 18 balls inside six overs.

The opener’s innings came to a close after feathering behind to Seifert off Rachin Ravindra for 52, but India continued to steam ahead and reached 127 for one at the halfway stage.

Samson reached 50 from 33 balls and propelled their innings alongside Kishan, who brought up his half-century from 23 deliveries.

Neesham found the breakthrough in the 16th over when Samson lofted his delivery to substitute Cole McConchie at long-on and ended his mammoth innings of 89 from 46 balls, hitting eight sixes and five boundaries along the way.

In the same over, Neesham claimed the scalp of Kishan with Mark Chapman taking the catch at long-on and the all-rounder struck again the following ball to dismiss new batter Suryakumar Yadav for a duck.

Matt Henry claimed Hardik Pandya’s wicket for 18, but Shivam Dube’s unbeaten cameo of 26 helped set a 256 target.

Finn Allen was dropped by Dube in the first over of New Zealand’s reply, but he was shortly dismissed after smashing Patel’s delivery to Tilak Varma at long-on.

The Black Caps plunged into trouble as Bumrah struck with his first ball in the third over when Ravindra’s strike was caught by Kishan and Patel soon bowled Glenn Phillips.

India remained in control as Chapman chopped onto his stumps off Pandya and although Seifert led the fightback with a half-century, he was the next to fall for 52 after thrashing the ball to Kishan from Varun Chakravarthy.

Daryl Mitchell and Mitchell Santner looked to drag New Zealand back into the contest and shortly after the skipper was dropped on 26 by Pandya, their 52-run partnership was ended when Mitchell was caught by Kishan on the boundary off Patel for 17.

Bumrah then helped mop up the tail with Neesham and Henry falling for single figures and he claimed the scalp of Santner for 43 before Sharma wrapped up the match by taking Jacob Duffy’s wicket as New Zealand crumbled to 159 all out.