On 8 March 2026, India became the first host nation to sucessfully defend the T20 world cup trophy. The final match was held between India and New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The Indian cricket team also became the first team to win the tournament three times. They registered a historic victory by defeating their opponents by 96 runs.
Sanju Samson was honoured with the title of Player of the Tournament, as he scored 321 runs, with three consecutive fifties. Jasprit Bumrah bagged the title of Man of the Match. He became the highest wicket-taking pacer in the T20 World Cup surpassing Lasith Malinga and Anrich Nortje. In the final match, the Indian team seta difficult target for their opponents by scoring the mammoth total of 255 runs. In the first innings, Sanju Samson was the top-scoring batsman with 89 runs off 46 balls. A significant contribution to the total score was also made by Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan, who scored 52 (21) and 54 (25) runs respectively. In the second innings, India successfully defended the grand score. Jasprit Bumrah led the charge with the ball by taking four wickets, and vice-captain Axar Patel took three wickets.
In its victorious campaign leading to the trophy, the Indian team lost only one match. It made a strong start by defeating the USA, where captain Suryakumar Yadav played a masterful innings by scoring 84 runs at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. In subsequent matches, India defeated other teams such as Namibia, Pakistan and the Netherlands, thereby cruising into the Super Eights.
In the first match of the Super Eights, India suffered a defeat to South Africa. However, the team bounced back by defeating Zimbabwe. In this match, India scored the highest total in the history of the T20 World Cup, 256/4.
In the quarter-final clash, Sanju Samson played a historic innings, scoring 97 runs off just 50 deliveries against the West Indies at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. In the semi final, India strategically defended a score of 253/7 against England.
With this victorious campaign, Captain Suryakumar Yadav became the fourth Indian captain to lead the Indian national team to a World Cup title. Head coach Gautam Gambhir also deserves special recongnition for his contribution, helping the Indian team to continue its dominance in the T20 format.
Former World Cup-winning captains such as Kapil Dev, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rohit Sharma were also present in the stadium to cheer on the Indian team. The Honourable Home Minister Amit Shah, was also part of the audience to witness the historical win. ICC Chairman Jay Shah presented the trophy to Indian Captain Suryakumar Yadav. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar congratulated the team for its exceptional skills and determination, acknowledging the victory on the social media platform X.
