Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson gave India an explosive start in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final against New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday.
The two openers added 98 runs for the first wicket, creating the first 50-over opening partnership in a Men’s T20 World Cup final. The previous highest opening score in a final was 48, scored by Kamran Akmal and Shahzaib Hasan for Pakistan against Sri Lanka at Lord’s Cricket Ground in 2009.
Abhishek had not scored many runs at the beginning of the tournament but did so in the final while Samson continued in good form. Both openers scored 92 runs in the powerplay, the highest score in any T20 World Cup match.
See also: India vs New Zealand Live Score T20 World Cup 2026 Final
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Abhishek brought up his fifty in the final off just 18 balls and was finally dismissed for 52.
Highest PP scores in T20 WCs
92/0 – IND v New Zealand, Ahmedabad, 2026 final
92/1 – WI v AFG, Bridgetown, 2024
91/1 – NED v IRE, Sylhet, 2014
89/3 – ENG vs SA, Bombay WS, 2016
86/1 – IND v NAM, Delhi, 2026
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Earlier, New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner won the toss and decided to play.
Before the match, MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma carried the T20 World Cup trophy onto the field, prompting a strong response from the crowd.
Dhoni led India to the first T20 World Cup title in 2007, while Rohit captained the team to its second title in the 2024 edition.
New Zealand reached the final after defeating South Africa in the semi-final. India recorded a seven-run victory over England in Mumbai to reach the final.
In the T20 World Cup encounters between the two sides, New Zealand has the advantage with wins in 2007, 2016 and 2021.
India chases several milestones in the final. The team aims to become the first host country to win the T20 World Cup, the first team to defend the title and the first team to win the tournament three times.
For New Zealand, one challenge is containing India’s batting order and managing Jasprit Bumrah’s bowling.
“Happy to bat first as we have been doing quite well. It’s always good to get runs on the board in a semi-final or a final. Now it’s history, a new World Cup, and we are excited about it. It seems like it’s full, and it’s just time to bowl, and hopefully we’ll give them a good show. Same team for us,” said India captain Suryakumar Yadav.
“We’re going to bowl first. It’s looking pretty good. We’ll see if that does anything and try to restrict them to a chaseable score. The boys are good. That’s why we’re playing. He did it. Big chance, semi-final and the boys will take confidence from that. This is the biggest stage, and everyone is ready. No, McConchie, Duffy is playing,” Santner said.
India is playing in its fourth T20 World Cup final, the most for any team. Of the nine previous finals, six were won by the chasing team. Of the remaining three, India won two (in 2007 and 2024), both in matches decided in the final.
teams
India (playing 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 (playing XI): Tim Seifert (wk), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner (c), Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy.