Cricket fans in Ahmedabad got a glimpse of former India captains MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma when they walked out with the T20 World Cup trophy, before the final between India and New Zealand.
Both MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma are T20 World Cup-winning skippers for India. While MS Dhoni led India to their maiden T20 World Cup title in the inaugural edition in 2007 by beating Pakistan, Rohit Sharma guided the Men in Blue to their second title in 2024 with a victory over South Africa.
India look to clinch third T20 World Cup title
Coming into the match, New Zealand won the toss and opted to field first. The Black Caps got in Jacob Duffy in place of Cole McConchie, whereas India named an unchanged side from the semi-final win over England.
At the time of writing this report, India were 47/0 in 3.4 overs, with openers Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma having taken the hosts off to a brisk start.
India have lost just one match in this T20 World Cup, and that came against South Africa in Ahmedabad. In the other match played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, India defeated Netherlands by 17 runs.
Their 76-run loss to South Africa in the Super 8 stage meant that the Suryakumar Yadav-led side had their task cut out in their next two matches.
The defending champions then went onto beat Zimbabwe and West Indies in their remaining Super 8 matches, and South Africa’s win over West Indies meant that India qualified for the semi-finals with four points.
Sanju Samson, who scored an unbeaten 97 against West Indies, continued his good form into the semi-finals against England, scoring 89 runs. He led India to 253/7, and England, in their reply, posted 246/7 as Jacob Bethell’s century went in vain.
New Zealand, on the other hand, registered victories over Afghanistan, UAE and Canada while losing to South Africa in the group stage. In the Super 8 stage, after a washed out match against Pakistan, they beat Sri Lanka but lost to England. Despite just one win, the Kiwis advanced to the semi-finals with three points, courtesy a better Net Run Rate over Pakistan, who also finished with three points.
New Zealand then got their revenge against South Africa in the semi-finals, beating the Proteas by nine wickets.
India are looking to defend the T20 World Cup title, and clinch their third title overall. New Zealand, on the other hand, are aiming to clinch their first-ever men’s T20 World Cup title.
