Ahmedabad, March 8 Sanju Samson stunned a bewildered New Zealand, accompanied by the equally destructive Abhishek Sharma, who saved his best for last in India's record-breaking 255 for five against New Zealand in the T20 World Cup final here on Sunday.
And if that wasn't enough, Ishan Kishan (54 off 25 balls) proved that three batsmen can perform together as India's top three delivered a superlative batting display, stunning New Zealand.
Abhishek fully capitalized on Mitchell Santner's tactical missteps with a 21-ball-52 blitz, but Samson's powerful effort – a dazzling 89 off 46 balls, a combination of brute force and elegant grace – will be remembered for years to come.
There were eight sixes – a few over long-on, two over square leg, down the ground, and over long-off.
Samson made Rachin Ravindra's left-arm spin, Lockie Ferguson (0/48 in 2 overs) and Matt Henry's (0/49 in 4 overs) medium pace bowling look pedestrian. It was a massacre of a good bowling attack.
After match-winning performances against West Indies and England, Kerala's favorite son finally silenced the doubters, who had questioned his credentials over the past decade.
After a series of disappointing performances and his place in the team being debated from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, Abhishek finally delivered as expected, with the help of New Zealand pacers who handed him the advantage.
An 18-ball-50 with his signature straight sixes, the familiar bat swing, the Punjab man enjoyed the favorable conditions under the floodlit Ahmedabad skyline.
Skipper Santner completely misread the Motera track and made a blunder in team selection, dropping off-spinner Cole McConchie, who had dismissed left-handed batsmen Quinton de Kock and Ryan Rickleton in the only over that he bowled in the semifinal.
Instead, it was Jacob Duffy's (0/42 in 3 overs) medium pace which proved to be Abhishek's undoing as he smashed five of his half a dozen boundaries off him.
In the case of Matt Henry (1/49 in four overs), once Samson smacked him for a six slightly wide off long-on, there was no looking back. With as many as 92 runs in the Powerplay, India had seized the decisive advantage.
After Rachin Ravindra (1/32 in 2 overs) removed Abhishek after a 98-run opening stand off 43 balls, Kishan kept the tempo with four sixes and as many boundaries.
A 105-run stand off 48 balls took them past the 200-run mark before Jimmy Neesham (3/46 in four overs) removed Samson, Kishan and skipper Suryakumar Yadav (0) in the 16th over. However, the damage had already been done by then.
Santner's decision to bench off-spinner Kyle McConchie and instead play Jacob Duffy didn't seem like a prudent call as he was hammered for three boundaries in his very first over.
While Glenn Phillips bowled a tidy second over, the moment Abhishek had to deal with pace, he was in his elements. The sixes over extra cover off Lockie Ferguson and Matt Henry sent the capacity crowd into raptures.
