India thrashed New Zealand by 96 runs in the final at Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday (March 8) to successfully defend their T20 World Cup crown on home soil.

Following the triumph, India head coach Gautam Gambhir was at his blunt best as he spoke about being accountable to people in the dressing room and not towards people on social media.

"My accountability is not for people on Social Media. My accountability is to those 30 people in that change room," Gambhir said in the post-match presser.

"A coach is as good as his team. Players made me the coach I am," he added.

Gambhir stressed that the team's culture under his tenure is built around winning trophies rather than chasing milestones.

“My simple philosophy with Surya has always been that milestones don't matter. It's the trophies that matter. For too long in Indian cricket, we've spoken about milestones. And I hope that till I'm there, we're not going to talk about milestones,” the coach told reporters.

Gambhir commended skipper Suryakumar Yadav for his leadership skills and for sharing the same philosophy about prioritising team success over personal records.

“Look, I've said it before, I think Surya has made my life a lot easier in this format. I think he's a phenomenal leader. I think, yes, he very rightly mentioned that he doesn't want to be called a captain, he wants to be called a leader because a leader is a far bigger figure in a dressing room than a captain.”

“And I think Surya has… Actually, I've been very fortunate that Surya and I were on the same page, especially on this one,” he remarked.

Coming to the match, the Men in Blue racked up the highest-ever total in the final of a T20 World Cup after being put into bat, posting a mammoth 255/5 in 20 overs.

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) were the pick of the bowlers as India bundled New Zealand out for 159 in 19 overs.