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Full Noise by SN
India's 'blue machine' crushes Blackcaps' T20 World Cup dreams
Ian Chadband, AAP • March 9th, 2026 6:30 am
Blackcaps captain Mitch Santner | Photo: MB Media/Photosport
Skipper Mitch Santner had hoped to break a billion hearts in the T20 World Cup final - but once again it was New Zealand cricket's nearly-men who were left crestfallen with a brutal defeat at the hands of India's extraordinary blue machine.
Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium, the scene of India's misery in the global 50-over final against Australia just two-and-a-half years ago, this time became a national cathedral of joy as the favourites, inspired by Sanju Samson's brutal batting and Jasprit Bumrah's matchless bowling, fashioned a 96-run victory on Sunday.
It ensured Suryakumar Yadav's powerhouse team became the first to successfully defend the global T20 crown in the tournament's short history.
India in the T20 World Cup final | Photo: MB Media/Photosport
Put in to bat in front of more than 100,000 of their adoring home fans, India didn't put a foot wrong this time, amassing the third-highest total in the tournament's history with their 255/5 that featured a third successive near-miss for a century from the inspired Samson, who hit eight sixes in his 89 off 46 balls.
With Abhishek Sharma racing to the quickest 50 in the tournament off 18 balls and Ishan Kishan also rattling on to a half-century off 23, India would have been looking at an even more stratospheric total had it not been for Jimmy Neesham's three-wicket over that applied the brakes near the end.
Any hope for the Blackcaps, who'd lost their previous three World Cup finals - one in T20 and two in the 50-over game - over the past 11 years, was then extinguished by the world's best bowler Bumrah, who led the way with a remarkable 4/15 off his four overs, and spinner Axar Patel's 3/27 as they crumbled to 159 in 19 overs.
