Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson got India off to an explosive start against New Zealand in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday.
The two openers reached 98 runs for the first wicket, creating the first 50-plus opening partnership in a men’s T20 World Cup final. The previous highest opening score in a final was 48, scored by Pakistan’s Kamran Akmal and Shahzaib Hasan in 2009 against Sri Lanka at Lord’s Cricket Ground.
Abhishek didn’t score many runs earlier in the match but did so in the final while Samson continued his form. Both openers scored 92 runs in the powerplay, which is the highest powerplay score in any T20 World Cup match.
Also Read: India vs New Zealand T20 World Cup Final 2026 Live Score
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Abhishek scored 50 off just 18 balls in the final and was bowled out for 52 balls.
Highest PP score in T20 WC
92/0 – IND vs NZ, Ahmedabad, 2026 Final
92/1 – WI vs AFG, Bridgetown, 2024
91/1 – NED vs IRE, Sylhet, 2014
89/3 – ENG vs SA, Mumbai WS, 2016
86/1 – IND vs NAM, Delhi, 2026
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Earlier, New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner had won the match and elected to field.
Before the match, MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma brought the T20 World Cup trophy to the stadium, which aroused enthusiastic response from the audience.
Dhoni led India to their first T20 World Cup title in 2007, while Rohit led India to their second title in the 2024 World Cup.
New Zealand defeated South Africa in the semi-finals to reach the final. India beat England by seven runs in Mumbai to reach the final.
In the T20 World Cup clashes between the two sides, New Zealand has the upper hand by winning in 2007, 2016 and 2021.
India are chasing several milestones in the final. The team’s goal is to become the first host nation to win the T20 World Cup, the first team to defend the title, and the first team to win the tournament three times.
A challenge for New Zealand will be to contain India’s batting order and deal with Jasprit Bumrah’s bowling.
“It’s nice to bat first because we have been doing well. It’s always good to get runs in a semi-final or final. It’s history now, the new World Cup and we’re excited about it. It looks full and it’s just toss time now and hopefully we can give them a good show. We are the same team,” said India captain Suryakumar Yadav.
“We’re going to bowl first. It’s looking good. We’ll see if it does anything and try to limit them to a catchable score. The boys are good. That’s why we’re playing. It really is. Great moment, the semi-final, the guys will take confidence from it. It’s the biggest stage and everyone is ready. No, McConchie, Duffy is playing,” Santner said.
India is participating in its fourth T20 World Cup final and is the team that has participated in the most finals. Six of the previous nine finals were edge-chasing wins. India has won two of the remaining three tournaments – in 2007 and 2024 – both decided in the finals.
team
India (Starting XI): Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah.
New Zealand (Starting XI): Tim Seifert (wk), Finn Allen, Lachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner (c), Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy.