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The Indian team will play against New Zealand in the final of the ICC T20 World Cup. India’s record in Ahmedabad has not been good but Suryakumar Yadav’s team would like to change history on this matter. There are a total of 5 players from both the teams in the match who will be kept an eye on.
World No. 1 T20 team India will face New Zealand in the final of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad today. The match between the two best teams of this year’s tournament is expected to be exciting in the world’s largest cricket stadium.
Under the captaincy of Suryakumar Yadav, India made it to the final of the T20 World Cup, when they defeated England by 7 runs at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. On the other hand, the Kiwi team made it to the final by defeating South Africa by 9 wickets in the first semi-final on Wednesday, March 4 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
In the semi-final match against South Africa, New Zealand achieved the target of 170 runs by losing one wicket in just 12.5 overs. On Sunday, March 8, Mitchell Santner’s team would like to repeat the same performance against hosts India in front of more than 100,000 spectators. Many players of both the teams are in great form these days and in the biggest match of the tournament, they would like to perform in such a way that their team can become the champion.
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Finn Allen is New Zealand’s highest run scorer. In eight matches, he has scored a total of 289 runs with the help of one century and one half-century. In the semi-final against South Africa in Kolkata, the 26-year-old right-handed batsman scored the fastest century (in 33 balls) in the history of the tournament for the Black Caps and the Kiwis will have high expectations from him in the final as well. His strike rate is 203.52, which is the highest in this T20 World Cup.
If Kiwi team has Allen, then India has Sanju Samson. The 31 year old wicketkeeper-batsman from Kerala is in tremendous form these days. In the last two matches, he scored unbeaten 97 runs in 50 balls against West Indies and 89 runs in 42 balls in the semi-final against England. Sanju has batted at a strike rate of 201.73 in the T20 World Cup 2026. He is second after Allen. He also holds the record for hitting the most number of sixes in one edition. If Sanju performs well with the bat in the finals too, it will be almost impossible for the Kiwi team to defeat India and win the World Cup for the first time.
Jasprit Bumrah is the reason due to which India has reached the final of the T20 World Cup. The 32-year-old fast bowler from Ahmedabad, who is considered the best pacer of all time, gave only 33 runs in four overs against England, while England scored 246 runs in reply to the target of 254 runs. Bumrah’s four overs against New Zealand in the final will once again decide the outcome of the match.
All-rounder Rachin Ravindra has impressed everyone with his all-round performance in the T20 World Cup 2026 and that is why he has been nominated for the Player of the Tournament award. Even though Rachin did not score runs as per his international cricket reputation in this year’s tournament, he surprised everyone by taking 11 wickets in bowling. The 26-year-old has fond memories of playing at the Narendra Modi Stadium (he scored his first ODI World Cup century here against England in October 2023) and will be looking to deliver a performance that helps his team win the World Cup for the first time on Sunday.
Hardik Pandya is India’s most important player in T20I and he has lived up to the expectations by taking 199 runs and 8 wickets in eight matches so far in the T20 World Cup 2026. This player from Vadodara is considered a player in big matches. In the final against New Zealand, Hardik will play an important role for the host team with both bat and ball.
Apart from Allen, Samson, Bumrah, Rachin and Pandya, Varun Chakraborty, Glenn Phillips, Ishan Kishan and out of form Abhishek Sharma are also the players to keep an eye on.