Ahmedabad, March 9 New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner expressed pride in his team's performance in the tournament despite their defeat in the final of the 2026 T20 World Cup against co-hosts India, acknowledging that they were outplayed by a strong team in front of a passionate home crowd.
Reflecting on the campaign, Santner praised his players for overcoming challenges and fighting hard at every stage, while also crediting India for their performance and composure under the pressure of playing a home World Cup.
Fast bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah took 4-15 as India became the first team to retain the Men's T20 World Cup title and win the crown for a record three times, defeating New Zealand by 96 runs in front of 86,824 fans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
"I'm proud of the boys for making it this far. Obviously, we faced some challenges throughout, but we put up a good fight at each stage. Today, we were outplayed by a great team in front of a great crowd. To see such a large crowd supporting India, they were the clear favorites. Playing a home World Cup comes with a lot of pressure. But yeah, SKY and the boys should be very proud. Different players stepped up at different stages. We put up a good fight in the Super Eight and semi-finals, but tonight we were clearly outplayed," said Mitchell Santner after the match.
Sanju Samson's blistering 89 off 46 balls, with five fours and eight sixes, helped India reach 255/5, the highest total in a T20 World Cup final, before Jasprit and Axar Patel (3-27) bowled out New Zealand's top order to seal victory. The visitors were dismissed for 159 in 19 overs, with only Tim Seifert offering resistance with a fighting 52.
Samson, in prime form after scores of 97 not out and 89 in his previous innings, shared a 98-run opening stand with Abhishek Sharma (52 off 21 balls) while Ishan Kishan added 54 off 25 deliveries. James Neesham briefly checked the charge with three wickets in an over, but Shivam Dube's unbeaten 26 off eight balls pushed India past 250.
India's bowlers then ensured there was no repeat of the semi-final scare against England, reducing New Zealand to 52/3 inside the powerplay. The win broke two hoodoos - India's first victory over New Zealand in a T20 World Cup and their first ICC white-ball triumph in Ahmedabad after defeats in the 2023 ODI final and earlier in this tournament.
