Ahmedabad, March 8 (IANS) Fast bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah picked 4-15 as India became the first team to retain the Men’s T20 World Cup title and win the crown for a record three times after beating New Zealand by 96 runs in front of 86,824 fans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday. Sanju Samson’s blistering 89 off 46 balls, laced with five fours and eight sixes, powered India to 255/5, the highest total in a T20 World Cup final, before Bumrah and Axar Patel (3-27) ripped through New Zealand’s top order to seal victory. The visitors were dismissed for 159 in 19 overs, with only Tim Seifert offering resistance through a fighting 52.

Samson, in prime form after scores of 97 not out and 89 in his previous innings, shared a 98-run opening stand with Abhishek Sharma (52 off 21 balls) while Ishan Kishan added 54 off 25 deliveries. James Neesham briefly checked the charge with three wickets in an over, but Shivam Dube’s unbeaten 26 off eight balls pushed India past 250. India’s bowlers then ensured there was no repeat of the semi-final scare against England, reducing New Zealand to 52/3 inside the powerplay. The win broke two hoodoos – India’s first victory over New Zealand in a T20 World Cup and their first ICC white-ball triumph in Ahmedabad after defeats in the 2023 ODI final and earlier in this tournament.

Captain Suryakumar Yadav is now the fourth Indian skipper to lead the side to a men’s cricket World Cup title after having not lost a single series since taking charge after the trophy triumph in Barbados in June 2024 – a remarkable record that highlights India’s dominance in the shortest format. Head coach Gautam Gambhir also gets his second ICC title, as India completed their two-peat of Men’s T20 World Cup titles via their high-risk and reward approach. On a flat mixed soil pitch, India’s imposing total was built on an explosive platform laid by their top three, all of whom attacked from the outset with strike rates that underlined their dominance. Samson finished on a strike rate of 193.47, while Abhishek struck at 247.61 and Kishan hit his runs at a strike-rate of 216.

The early overs had set an ominous tone for New Zealand before the tactical decision to introduce fast bowler Jacob Duffy in the third over backfired badly. Runs and boundaries flowed from there like an avalanche, as New Zealand’s bowlers were sent on a leather hunt via depending too much on slower balls and bowling away from stump-to-stump lines. Inserted into batting first, Samson defended solidly off Matt Henry for the first four balls, before opening up with an elegant swing over long-on for six. After Glenn Phillips gave away five runs in the second over, Abhishek announced himself with an ugly heave off Jacob Duffy for four, before sweetly timing a lofted off-drive for another boundary. Samson, meanwhile, pumped a Duffy inswinger back over the bowler’s head for four. The pitch was a belter, and both batters were beginning to sense it as the fourth over opened the floodgates for India.

Lockie Ferguson endured a nightmare introduction – two wides, with Abhishek and Samson taking him for a pair of four and six each, as the duo plundered 24 runs. Henry’s second over saw Abhishek launch a slower ball over mid-off for six before Samson rocked back to pull a bouncer for another maximum, even as four wides in the over told its own story. New Zealand’s plans were clearly unravelling against batters who simply refused to stick to a blueprint. Abhishek reached his half-century off just 18 balls in the sixth over, swatting and swinging his way to the milestone with nonchalance via three fours and a six, as India plundered 92 runs in power-play. Though Santner brought himself on in the seventh over, Samson cracked a cut off him for four. Abhishek’s fine innings ended in the eighth over when Rachin Ravindra pushed it wide, and the opener feathered an edge behind to the keeper to depart for 52. Ishan Kishan walked in and immediately fitted the template, as an on-drive for two brought up India’s hundred in 7.2 overs. With an off-drive and a muscular four through mid-wicket being the standout from his four quick boundaries, Kishan maintained India’s tempo. Samson, after raising his third successive fifty, was on an altogether different level – smacking Ferguson for two sixes and a four before smashing three consecutive sixes off Ravindra in the 14th over.

By the 15th over, India had already surpassed the highest team total in a T20 World Cup final, even as Kishan’s audacious strokeplay got him his fifty off 23 balls. But Neesham struck thrice in quick succession – Samson slapped a full toss to long-on and departed for 89, then Kishan holed out to long-on for 54, and skipper Suryakumar Yadav jabbed to deep backward square leg for a golden duck. Hardik Pandya smacked Henry for a six and four, before the pacer dismissed him on a slower bouncer and cover taking the catch. Shivam Dube ensured India got a great finishing kick by lofting Neesham for four, before smashing the next delivery over midwicket for six and clearing cover for another maximum. Dube then pulled Neesham for four and finished the innings with a cross-bat drive through cover, as India went past 250, thanks to 24 runs coming off the final over. In defence of 256, Arshdeep Singh found swing early on to keep Seifert and Finn Allen in check. After Allen was dropped on two by Dube at mid-off, Tim Seifert launched Hardik Pandya for two sixes and two fours in the second over, yielding 21 runs.

India’s response was swift and ruthless, as Axar, introduced in the third over, had the dangerous Allen holing out to long-on. Bumrah was summoned in the fourth over and struck with his very first ball, as Rachin Ravindra chipped an off-cutter to Ishan Kishan, who took a brilliant diving catch. Axar then castled Glenn Phillips with a perfectly disguised arm ball in the fifth over, the ball slipping past his bat to peg back leg stump, as New Zealand ended power-play at 52/3. Seifert marched forward to bring up a half-century off 23 balls by carting Varun Chakaravarthy for two sixes. But India continued to chip away – Mark Chapman chopped onto his stumps off Pandya, while Seifert miscued the pull and Kishan tossed the ball in the air and regained balance to complete a solo relay catch in the deep. The crowd was briefly silenced when Daryl Mitchell struck successive sixes off Arshdeep Singh, who later fielded off his own bowling and threw the ball back at the batter, invoking an angry reaction from him.

The umpire intervened, with Suryakumar Yadav offering an apology and Arshdeep following with a handshake at the end of the over. Despite the steep asking rate, Mitchell and skipper Mitchell Santner, dropped on 26 by Pandya, continued to smash boundaries. But Axar came back to have the former hole out to deep mid-wicket off a full toss, while Bumrah castled James Neesham, Matt Henry, and Neesham with slower balls, before Tilak Varma completed a solo relay catch of Jacob Duffy off Abhishek Sharma’s bowling, as India lived up to their pre-tournament hype and made the history they were destined to make in blistering style. Brief scores: India 255/5 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 89, Ishan Kishan 54, Abhishek Sharma 52; James Neesham 3-46, Rachin Ravindra 1-32) beat New Zealand 159 in 19 overs (Tim Seifert 52, Mitchell Santner 43; Jasprit Bumrah 4-15, Axar Patel 3-27) by 96 runs