Ahmedabad, March 7 – An upbeat Indian team will face a strong New Zealand side in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup final at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday, in what will be the second ICC tournament final between the two teams in the past year, following the Champions Trophy final on March 9, 2025.
India enters the final against New Zealand with a slight advantage. Playing at home, as defending champions, and having recently won bilateral series against the Kiwis, India appears to have the momentum. However, history provides a counterpoint – New Zealand has never been defeated by India in tournament encounters.
Both teams have had a challenging journey throughout the competition. At various stages, each team looked close to elimination before producing strong comebacks to secure their place in the final of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup.
New Zealand's campaign was disrupted after their defeat to England, leaving their semi-final qualification uncertain and dependent on the results of other matches. Ultimately, Pakistan's failure to secure a decisive victory over Sri Lanka ensured that the Black Caps progressed to the knockout stage.
In the semi-final, New Zealand produced an outstanding performance, defeating South Africa by nine wickets to secure their place in the final.
India's journey was also marked by dramatic turns. Entering the tournament as one of the favorites, their campaign took a major hit when they suffered a 72-run defeat to South Africa in the Super Eights, putting them on the brink of elimination.
However, aided by some luck and strong performances when it mattered most, India bounced back impressively, registering dominant victories over West Indies and England to secure their place in a second consecutive T20 World Cup final.
Head-to-head record between India and New Zealand in T20Is
Total Matches Played: 30
India Won: 18
New Zealand Won: 11
Tied: 1
Performance of both teams in their last 5 matches
India: W, L, W, W, W
New Zealand: W, AB, W, L, W
Squads:
India: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Sanju Samson (wk), Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel.
New Zealand: Tim Seifert (wk), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner (c), Cole McConchie, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy, James Neesham, Kyle Jamieson, Devon Conway
