T20 World Cup final, Ahmedabad
India crush New Zealand by 96 runs to defend title
India 255-5 (20 overs): Samson 89 (46), Kishan 54 (25), Abhishek 52 (21); Neesham 3-46
NZ 159 (19 overs): Seifert 52 (26); Bumrah 4-15, Axar 3-27
Matthew Henry
BBC Sport journalist in Ahmedabad
The anticipation for this game has been as you'd expect. There were extra trains put on at 4am from Mumbai to cater for all of the India fans trying to get in. A crowd of over 100,000 is expected.
Left-handed opener Abhishek Sharma, who has not lit this tournament up in the manner it had been expected, is watchful to Glenn Phillps to start with.
Rufus Bullough
CricViz analyst
Sanju Samson has targeted down the ground heavily during this tournament, with 47% of his 232 runs coming through mid-off/mid-on. No opener in the tournament has scored a higher proportion of their runs down the ground.
Steven Finn
Former England fast bowler on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
The short-arm jab Sanju Samson plays puts the bowler on the back foot when he unfurls it. It looks a good pitch.
Four dots from Matt Henry before Sanju Samson shimmies down the pitch to the Kiwi seamer and wallops it over long-on for six.
India are up and running.
Matt Henry hits Sanju Samson high on the pad with a nip backer from second delivery. New Zealand appeal, but Mitchell Santner decides against a review.
Good call. There was an inside edge on that.
Rufus Bullough
CricViz analyst
India are winless against New Zealand in their previous three meetings in T20 World Cup: Johannesburg in 2007, Nagpur in 2016, Dubai in 2021.
Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma stride out for India to open.
Matt Henry will start with the ball for New Zealand.
India: Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Hardik Pandya, Tilak Varma, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah.
New Zealand: Finn Allen, Tim Seifert (wicketkeeper), Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner (captain), Jimmy Neesham, Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson.
Janhavee Moole
BBC Marathi, Ahmedabad
Image source, Getty ImagesBefore the final begins, the closing ceremony in Ahmedabad became a dance party.
Singer Falguni Pathak opened the set with har famous songs while some fans were seen doing traditional ‘Garba’ dance in stands.
Then everyone rose to feet and danced to ‘Bhangda’ beats when singer Sukhbir sing took the stage - Garba and Bhangda are two popular dance forms from India’s Gujrat and Punjab states.
Then Ricky Martin came on stage, performing his famous numbers like Livin’ la Vida Loca, She Bangs, and La Copa de la Via (The Cup of Life) - a song he performed at the Fifa World Cup in 1998.
Matthew Henry
BBC Sport journalist in Ahmedabad
I've no idea about the relevance of Ricky Martin to cricket but the crowd seemed pretty entertained.
He didn't even save Livin' La Vida Loca until last...
Image source, Getty ImagesIndia skipper Suryakumar Yadav: "We are happy to bat first. We have batted first on similar wickets in the tournament so we are happy to bat first.
"It's good to have runs on the board and then back our bowlers to defend. It feels good to be defending champions but it's history now. The stadium looks full already and we will do our best tonight."
Image source, Getty ImagesFans have just been royally entertained by Ricky Martin at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
The Latino singer-songwriter in his mid-fifites now but those hips are still shaking like a man half his age.
Not sure how much of a cricket man Ricky is, but if he wants to swot up on the history of cricket in Latin America apparently there's a good book out there I can, ahem, recommend...
Image source, Getty ImagesNew Zealand captain Mitchell Santner: "We probably knew it was going to be a flat one, it looks pretty good. India have a lot of power, we'll try to restrict them.
"The boys are good. This is what we play the game for. It's going to be a great night, hopefully we put on a good show.
"We knew that making the semis is a great occasion. We had to put a good performance against a good team. We know we have a big challenge tonight.
"I think every team wants to peak at the right time and I think we've done that. It looks a good surface, I think there'll be a lot of runs in it."
Matthew Henry
BBC Sport journalist in Ahmedabad
New Zealand do not make natural heartbreakers.
They are cricket's nice guys - your second-favourite team.
Brendon McCullum's men thrilled in 2015. You still feel guilty for Kane Williamson's side after that deflection off Ben Stokes' bat four years later at Lord's.
The T20 World Cup final against India in Ahmedabad will be the Black Caps' fifth white-ball final in the past 11 years.
Image source, Getty ImagesAfter some hyperbole from Ravi Shastri we finally get to the toss.
Suryakumar Yadav gives the coin a flick and Mitchell Santner calls tails.
It comes down a tail. Santner decides he fancies a chase so will bowl first.
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Getty ImagesThere will be plenty of expectation on India, co-hosts and defending champions.
This match is at a behemoth of a stadium - the gargantuan Narendra Modi Stadium which holds in the region of 130,000.
Fans, the majority of whom are clad in blue, have slowly been making their way into the stadium.
Will Suryakumar Yadav and company hold their nerve?
Image source, Getty ImagesAfter 29 days and 54 matches - well 52 if you exclude washouts - we're down to the big one. The one that really matters.
The T20 World Cup final.
Welcome to live coverage of India v New Zealand from the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
| Batter | Runs | Balls | Dots | 4s | 6s | Minutes | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Samson,caught substitute, bowled Neesham Samson, caught substitute, bowled Neesham | 89 | 46 | 14 | 5 | 8 | 74 | 193.48 |
Sharma,caught Seifert, bowled Ravindra Sharma, caught Seifert, bowled Ravindra | 52 | 21 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 39 | 247.62 |
Kishan,caught Chapman, bowled Neesham Kishan, caught Chapman, bowled Neesham | 54 | 25 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 39 | 216.00 |
Pandya,caught Santner, bowled Henry Pandya, caught Santner, bowled Henry | 18 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 138.46 |
Yadav,caught Ravindra, bowled Neesham Yadav, caught Ravindra, bowled Neesham | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 |
Tilak,not out Tilak, not out | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 133.33 |
Dube,not out Dube, not out | 26 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 325.00 |
Extras, no balls 0, wides 8, byes 0, leg byes 0, total 8 Extras, no balls 0, wides 8, byes 0, leg byes 0, total 8 | |||||||
Total,255 for 5 20.0 overs Total,255 for 5 20.0 overs |
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Dots | No balls | Wides | 4s | 6s | Economy rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Henry | 4.0 | 0 | 49 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 12.25 |
Phillips | 1.0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.00 |
Duffy | 3.0 | 0 | 42 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 14.00 |
Ferguson | 2.0 | 0 | 48 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 24.00 |
Santner | 4.0 | 0 | 33 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8.25 |
Ravindra | 2.0 | 0 | 32 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 16.00 |
Neesham | 4.0 | 0 | 46 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 11.50 |
| Fall of wicket | Batter |
|---|---|
98 for 1 (7.1 overs) | Sharma |
203 for 2 (15.1 overs) | Samson |
204 for 3 (15.5 overs) | Kishan |
204 for 4 (15.6 overs) | Yadav |
226 for 5 (18.2 overs) | Pandya |
| Batter | Runs | Balls | Dots | 4s | 6s | Minutes | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Seifert,caught Kishan, bowled Chakravarthy Seifert, caught Kishan, bowled Chakravarthy | 52 | 26 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 41 | 200.00 |
Allen,caught Tilak, bowled Patel Allen, caught Tilak, bowled Patel | 9 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 128.57 |
Ravindra,caught Kishan, bowled Bumrah Ravindra, caught Kishan, bowled Bumrah | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 50.00 |
Phillips,bowled Patel Phillips, bowled Patel | 5 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 100.00 |
Chapman,bowled Pandya Chapman, bowled Pandya | 3 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 37.50 |
Mitchell,caught Kishan, bowled Patel Mitchell, caught Kishan, bowled Patel | 17 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 25 | 154.55 |
Santner,bowled Bumrah Santner, bowled Bumrah | 43 | 35 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 52 | 122.86 |
Neesham,bowled Bumrah Neesham, bowled Bumrah | 8 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 114.29 |
Henry,bowled Bumrah Henry, bowled Bumrah | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 |
Ferguson,not out Ferguson, not out | 6 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 85.71 |
Duffy,caught Tilak, bowled Sharma Duffy, caught Tilak, bowled Sharma | 3 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 60.00 |
Extras, no balls 0, wides 7, byes 4, leg byes 1, total 12 Extras, no balls 0, wides 7, byes 4, leg byes 1, total 12 | |||||||
Total,159 all out 19.0 overs Total,159 all out 19.0 overs |
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Dots | No balls | Wides | 4s | 6s | Economy rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arshdeep | 4.0 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 8.00 |
Pandya | 4.0 | 0 | 36 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 9.00 |
Patel | 3.0 | 0 | 27 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 9.00 |
Bumrah | 4.0 | 0 | 15 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.75 |
Chakravarthy | 3.0 | 0 | 39 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 13.00 |
Sharma | 1.0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.00 |
| Fall of wicket | Batter |
|---|---|
31 for 1 (2.4 overs) | Allen |
32 for 2 (3.1 overs) | Ravindra |
47 for 3 (4.5 overs) | Phillips |
70 for 4 (7.4 overs) | Chapman |
72 for 5 (8.1 overs) | Seifert |
124 for 6 (12.5 overs) | Mitchell |
141 for 7 (15.3 overs) | Neesham |
141 for 8 (15.4 overs) | Henry |
152 for 9 (17.3 overs) | Santner |
159 for 10 (18.6 overs) | Duffy |