Ahmedabad, March 8 India edged closer to winning a historic consecutive T20 World Cup title as they left New Zealand reeling at 139/6 in 15 overs after setting the visitors a challenging target of 256 in the final here on Sunday.
Led by Sanju Samson's 46-ball 89 and equally destructive half-centuries from Abhishek Sharma (52 off 21 balls) and Ishan Kishan (54 off 25 balls), the defending champions, India, put on a powerful batting display to post a massive 255 for 5.
In reply, New Zealand lost all their key batters by the time the innings entered the halfway stage.
Opener Tim Seifert smashed 52 off 26 balls, but the rest of the top order failed to deliver in the tough chase.
Axar Patel dismissed the dangerous Finn Allen (9) and Glenn Phillips (5), while Jasprit Bumrah removed Rachin Ravindra (1) in the powerplay. Subsequently, Hardik Pandya and Varun Chakravarthy each took a wicket, while Axar returned to send back Daryl Mitchell (17).
Earlier, New Zealand bowlers were all at sea after inviting India to bat in the winner-takes-all contest, with Samson and Abhishek going berserk from the word go, smashing sixes and fours.
They raised a quick-fire 98-run stand in just 7.1 overs, providing a strong platform, and Kishan carried forward the momentum with his brisk knock.
Brief scores:
India: 255/5 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 89, Ishan Kishan 54, Abhishek Sharma 52; James Neesham 3/46).
New Zealand: 139/6 in 15 overs (Tim Seifert 52; Axar Patel 3/27).
