India on Sunday (March 8) created history as they became the first team to defend the T20 World Cup title, win it thrice and win it on home soil by beating New Zealand in the summit clash at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
Invited to bat first, the Men in Blue racked up a mammoth 255/5 in 20 overs -- the highest-ever total in the final of a T20 World Cup.
Sanju Samson led the way with a knock of 89 in 46 balls. Abhishek Sharma (52 off 21) saved his best for last, smashing the fastest half-century of the tournament, off just 18 balls. Ishan Kishan (54 off 25) and Shivam Dube (26 off 8) also made significant contributions.
With the ball, Jasprit Bumrah (4/15 in 4 overs) and Axar Patel (3/27 in 3 overs) stole the show as India bundled out the Kiwis for 159 in 19 overs to win the contest by 96 runs.
Following the triumph, Bumrah said he was delighted to bury the ghosts of the ODI World Cup 2023 final.
"It feels extremely special because I played one final at my home venue and couldn't win that one. But this one feels really special. I was really motivated, I was really clear, I knew what I wanted to do. The wicket was a flat one, so I played all my cricket here, so I used all my experience. Today was a wonderful day when all the execution went as per plan. So yeah, really happy, really grateful, God is really kind," Bumrah said after winning the Player-of-the-Final award.
The ace pacer’s variations proved too much for the Black Caps batting lineup. Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Jimmy Neesham and Matt Henry were his victims.
Reflecting on his spell on the batting paradise, Bumrah said: "Because I've played on belters over here, I have also seen the other team, how they were bowling... I have learnt over here when you are trying to bowl too fast, it gets easier. Shot making gets easier, sometimes the ball skids on [to the bat], so keep being smart, keep changing your pace and expect what the batsman is trying to do. So all of these things really help you and clarity while execution also helps."
Bumrah also commended his bowling partners, particularly Axar Patel and Hardik Pandya, who picked up the wicket of Mark Chapman.
"Oh it was really wonderful, everybody is very clear," Bumrah said. "Whenever we have discussed, they always come up with their options and whenever there is some communication that is needed, we always did that. We kept calm, we were never panicking, even if sometimes in the tournament the games got close like the last one, we never panicked.
"We always felt that we will keep our head above the water and try to hold our nerve, teams that do that win the tournament and we are very happy that we did it."
