Never has a team ever won a T20 World Cup trophy at home. Neither has a team that has defended its trophy. The variance in a T20 World Cup means that India's excellence in the format across two vastly different teams makes the act of going back-to-back in the finals a unique feat. Against New Zealand on Sunday evening in the final of the T20 World Cup, Suryakumar Yadav's team have a chance to create history.
After coming through unscathed in two must-win matches against the West Indies and England in the semifinals, it's a matter of the winning team taking the trophy, and the losers returning home with nothing to show. Two high-scoring encounters lead to this game, where a mixed red-and-black soil pitch awaits them. India doesn't have a friendly history at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad – memories of the 2023 ODI World Cup final against Australia will still be fresh, especially for the players involved. Equally, hopes of avenging that particular match will be key amongst India’s aspirations.
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India have a positive record against New Zealand in T20I cricket: in 20 contests, India have 16 wins, while the Kiwis have 11 victories. India also have 2 super over wins, which came in the same series on the cusp of the Covid outbreak – famous matches during a bilateral series on Kiwi turf.
{{/usCountry}}India have a positive record against New Zealand in T20I cricket: in 20 contests, India have 16 wins, while the Kiwis have 11 victories. India also have 2 super over wins, which came in the same series on the cusp of the Covid outbreak – famous matches during a bilateral series on Kiwi turf.
{{/usCountry}}However, the number that will be more concerning for India is their record against the Kiwis in the T20 World Cups. When it comes to must-win games in these tournaments, India have lost three out of three – most recently in Dubai in 2021, and going back to 2007 in Johannesburg.
India will have the intention of notching their first win against the Kiwis in tournament play and will certainly start as favourites. Although New Zealand have several in-form players – particularly Finn Allen at the top of the order and Glenn Phillips in the middle – India have in-form players of their own. Prime amongst these is Sanju Samson, who has scored 94* and 89 in India’s previous two games – each of them in games where India couldn’t afford to lose.
India are in a strong position, only growing stronger with every game that passes. The batting, in particular, has grown towards its maximum potential. Abhishek Sharma’s form remains a concern – as does that for Varun Chakravarthy. Abhishek has not even surpassed the 100-run mark in totality in the 2026 edition of the tournament, consistently being dismissed by off-spinners. On the other hand, Varun has been hammered for runs in the Super8s and the semi-final and there's a strong case for Kuldeep Yadav to come into the mix.
But largely, India shouldn’t be concerned about making too many changes. The team is largely set and in a good position, and given the team’s modus operandi, no changes should be expected.
India’s predicted XI: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh.