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Template:Infobox cricket final
The 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup final was a Twenty20 International (T20I) cricket match played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, India, on 8 March 2026 to determine the winner of the 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. It was played between the defending champions India and New Zealand.
New Zealand won the toss and elected to field first; India registered a score of 255/5 in their innings. In the second innings, New Zealand were all out for 159. India won the match by 96 runs, retaining the title they had won at the previous tournament. India became the first team in the tournament to win three T20 World Cup titles, defend their title, and the first host country to win the title.
Background
Template:Main The 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup was the tenth edition of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, a biennial world cup for cricket in Twenty20 International (T20I) format, organized by the International Cricket Council (ICC).[1] In November 2021 as part of the 2024-2031 ICC men's hosts cycle, the ICC announced that the 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup would be played in India and Sri Lanka.[2]
On 6 November 2025, the ICC announced the finalised venues for the tournament,[3] with the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, India named as the venue for the final scheduled for 8 March 2026.[4] The match would have been moved to R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka, if Pakistan had qualified.[5]
This was New Zealand's second T20 World Cup final after being runners-up in 2021[6] while it was India's fourth final, having been champions in 2007 and 2024 and runners-up in 2014.[7] Before this match, India and New Zealand had played each other three times in the T20 World Cup, with New Zealand winning on all three occasions (2007, 2016 and 2021).[8]
Road to the final
Overview
- Source: ESPNcricinfo[9][10]
| Template:Cr-rt | vs | Template:Cr | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Date | Result | Points | Match | Opponent | Date | Result | Points |
| Group D | Group stage | Group A | ||||||
| Template:Cr | 8 February 2026 | Won | 2 | 1 | Template:Cr | 7 February 2026 | Won | 2 |
| Template:Cr | 10 February 2026 | Won | 4 | 2 | Template:Cr | 12 February 2026 | Won | 4 |
| Template:Cr | 14 February 2026 | Lost | 4 | 3 | Template:Cr | 15 February 2026 | Won | 6 |
| Template:Cr | 17 February 2026 | Won | 6 | 4 | Template:Cr | 18 February 2026 | Won | 8 |
| Group 2 | Super 8 stage | Group 1 | ||||||
| Template:Cr | 21 February 2026 | N/R | 1 | 5 | Template:Cr | 22 February 2026 | Lost | 0 |
| Template:Cr | 25 February 2026 | Won | 3 | 6 | Template:Cr | 26 February 2026 | Won | 2 |
| Template:Cr | 27 February 2026 | Lost | 3 | 7 | Template:Cr | 1 March 2026 | Won | 4 |
| Semi-final 1 | Knockout stage | Semi-final 2 | ||||||
| Template:Cr | 4 March 2026 | Won | [[2026 Men's T20 World Cup#Semi-finals|Template:Abbr]] | Template:Cr | 5 March 2026 | Won | ||
| 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup final | ||||||||
New Zealand
New Zealand began their T20 World Cup campaign with a victory over Afghanistan at M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai,[11] and went on to defeat United Arab Emirates[12] at the same venue. They lost to South Africa in Ahmedabad,[13] and defeated Canada in Chennai[14] to finish the group stage as runners-up of Group D.[10] In the Super 8 stage, their first game against Pakistan was abandoned due to rain in Colombo.[15] They went on to defeat co-hosts Sri Lanka,[16] but lost to England at the same venue.[17] Due to having a higher net run rate over Pakistan, New Zealand finished as runners-up of Group 2.[18][10] New Zealand then defeated South Africa in the semi-final 1 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in a re-match of their group stage fixture to qualify for their second T20 World Cup final.[19]
India
India began their T20 World Cup campaign with a victory over the United States at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai,[20] and went on to defeat Namibia at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi,[21] Pakistan in Colombo,[22] and Netherlands in Ahmedabad[23] to finish the group stage as winners of Group A.[10] In the Super 8 stage, they lost to South Africa in Ahmedabad in their first game ending their record-breaking win streaks (12 at T20 World Cups and 17 at ICC limited-overs tournaments).[24] They went on to defeat Zimbabwe in Chennai,[25] and West Indies in Kolkata[26] to finish as runners-up of Group 1.[10] India then defeated England in the semi-final 2 in Mumbai in a tight-contest to qualify for their record fourth T20 World Cup final.[27]
Match
Match officials
On 6 March 2026, the ICC named England's Richard Illingworth and Alex Wharf as the on-field umpires, along with South Africa's Allahudien Paleker as the third umpire and Adrian Holdstock as the reserve umpire, and Zimbabwe's Andy Pycroft as match referee.[28]
- On-field umpires: Richard Illingworth (Eng) and Alex Wharf (Eng)
- TV umpire: Allahudien Paleker (SA)
- Reserve umpire: Adrian Holdstock (SA)
- Match referee: Andy Pycroft (Zim)
Team and toss
Template:See also New Zealand's captain Mitchell Santner won the toss and elected to field. New Zealand brought in Jacob Duffy in place of Cole McConchie, while India remained unchanged from their respective semi-final matches.[29]
- India:[30] Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah
- New Zealand:[30] Finn Allen, Tim Seifert (wk), Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner (c), James Neesham, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy
India innings

Put to bat first, Indian openers Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma put on a 98-run partnership in 7 overs with each scoring half-centuries in 33 and 18 balls respectively. Following Sharma's dismissal in the eighth over, Ishan Kishan scored a half-century in 23 balls to put on a 105-run partnership with Samson. Both Samson and Kishan were dismissed in the 16th over of James Neesham, followed by Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav's dismissal for a duck in the same over. In the final two overs, Shivam Dube scored 26 runs from 8 balls to take India to a total of 255 runs for the loss of five wickets. Samson was the highest run-scorer for India with 89 runs from 46 balls while Neesham picked up three wickets for New Zealand.[31][32][33]
New Zealand innings
Chasing the target of 256, New Zealand opener Tim Seifert scored a half-century in 23 balls, while four New Zealand batters were dismissed for single-digit scores. Daryl Mitchell was dismissed for 17 runs, New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner was dismissed for 43 runs, and the remaining three batters were also dismissed for single-digit scores; bundling out New Zealand for 159. Seifert was the highest run-scorer for New Zealand with 52 runs from 26 balls[31][32][33] while Jasprit Bumrah picked up four wickets for India, giving away only 15 runs in 4 overs and received the player of the match award.[34]
Match details
<section begin="sc" />Template:Single-innings cricket match<section end="sc" />
- 1st innings
Template:Cricket match batting box begin Template:Cricket match batsman status Template:Cricket match batsman status Template:Cricket match batsman status Template:Cricket match batsman status Template:Cricket match batsman status Template:Cricket match batsman status Template:Cricket match batsman status Template:Cricket match batsman status Template:Cricket match batsman status Template:Cricket match batsman status Template:Cricket match batsman status |- align=left | Extras || (w 8) || Template:Align || || || || |- align=right | Template:Align || Template:Align || 255 || || 19 || 18 || RR: 12.75 Template:Cricket match box end Fall of wickets: 1/98 (Abhishek, 7.1 ov), 2/203 (Samsom, 15.1 ov), 3/204 (Kishan, 15.5 ov), 4/204 (Yadav, 15.6 ov), 5/226 (Pandya, 18.2 ov)
Template:Cricket match bowling box begin Template:Cricket match bowler status Template:Cricket match bowler status Template:Cricket match bowler status Template:Cricket match bowler status Template:Cricket match bowler status Template:Cricket match bowler status Template:Cricket match bowler status Template:Cricket match box end
- 2nd innings
Template:Cricket match batting box begin Template:Cricket match batsman status Template:Cricket match batsman status Template:Cricket match batsman status Template:Cricket match batsman status Template:Cricket match batsman status Template:Cricket match batsman status Template:Cricket match batsman status Template:Cricket match batsman status Template:Cricket match batsman status Template:Cricket match batsman status Template:Cricket match batsman status |- align=left | Extras || (b 4, lb 1, w 7) || Template:Align || || || || |- align=right | Template:Align || Template:Align || 159 || || 8 || 9 || RR: 8.36 Template:Cricket match box end Fall of wickets: 1/31 (Allen, 2.4 ov), 2/32 (Ravindra, 3.1 ov), 3/48 (Phillips, 4.5 ov), 4/70 (Chapman, 7.4 ov), 5/72 (Seifert, 8.1 ov), 6/124 (Mitchell, 12.5 ov), 7/141 (Neesham, 15.3 ov), 8/141 (Henry, 15.4 ov), 9/152 (Santner, 17.3 ov), 10/159 (Duffy, 18.6 ov)
Template:Cricket match bowling box begin Template:Cricket match bowler status Template:Cricket match bowler status Template:Cricket match bowler status Template:Cricket match bowler status Template:Cricket match bowler status Template:Cricket match bowler status Template:Cricket match box end Template:Cob
Aftermath
This was India's third T20 World Cup title victory, after 2007 and 2024. India were the first team to successfully defend their title to win two consecutive titles, the first tournament hosts to win, and first nation to win three T20 World Cup titles.[35] Suryakumar Yadav became the fourth Indian captain to win a major ICC event after Kapil Dev in 1983; MS Dhoni in 2007, 2011 and 2013; and Rohit Sharma in 2024 and 2025.[36]
India received $2.64 million and New Zealand received $1.42 million in prize money from the ICC.[37] Indian President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated team India on winning the tournament again.[38] The Board of Control for Cricket in India gave the team a cash reward of Template:INRConvert, split between the players and supporting staff.[39]
Broadcasting
Template:Further The final match was broadcast live in India on Star Sports, free-to-air broadcaster DD Sports and free on the Over-the-top platform JioHotstar. In New Zealand the match was broadcast live on Sky Sport and Sky Sport Now.[40] The final match had a peak of 72.5 million concurrent viewers.[41]
References
- ↑ T20 World Cup winners: India, West Indies and England tied on two titles each – full list of champions. Olympics.com(29 June 2024). Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ↑ USA to stage T20 World Cup: 2024–2031 ICC Men's tournament hosts confirmed(16 November 2021). Retrieved 20 February 2025.
- ↑ ICC shortlists venues for 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. ESPNcricinfo(6 November 2025). Retrieved 9 November 2025.
- ↑ Fixtures, groups released for ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026(25 November 2025). Retrieved 27 November 2025.
- ↑ Narendra Modi Stadium to host T20 World Cup final, R Premadasa Stadium announced as alternative for Pakistan.(9 September 2025). Retrieved 10 September 2025.
- ↑ Record ton by Allen powers New Zealand to final. International Cricket Council. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
- ↑ 499 runs and 34 sixes later, India beat England to enter T20 World Cup final. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
- ↑ Looking back: Previous India v New Zealand T20 World Cup matches, Beswick, Daniel. International Cricket Council. Retrieved 7 March 2026.
- ↑ Template:ESPNcricinfo 2
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Template:ESPNcricinfo 2
- ↑ Seifert half-century helps NZ beat Afghanistan. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
- ↑ Seifert, Allen fifties help New Zealand gallop to record-breaking win against UAE. ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
- ↑ South Africa ease to victory over New Zealand in Ahmedabad to close in on Super 8 spot. Sky Sports. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ↑ Canadian, 19, makes historic century but NZ reach Super 8s. Retrieved 17 February 2026.
- ↑ Incessant rain washes out opening Super Eight fixture between New Zealand and Pakistan. ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
- ↑ New Zealand's all-round brilliance knocks Sri Lanka out of T20WC. International Cricket Council. Retrieved 25 February 2026.
- ↑ New Zealand await semi-final fate after England's thrilling win. International Cricket Council. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
- ↑ New Zealand reach semis after Pakistan eliminated from T20 World Cup(28 February 2026). Retrieved 1 March 2026.
- ↑ Allen's 33-ball century steamrollers South Africa - as it happened. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
- ↑ Suryakumar's 84* helps India overcome USA scare. ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 7 February 2026.
- ↑ All-round India crush Namibia to register biggest win in T20 WCs. Cricbuzz. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
- ↑ India beats Pakistan by 61 runs, enters super 8s. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
- ↑ India beat Netherlands to complete perfect group stage as Shivam Dube shines with bat and ball. Sky Sports. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
- ↑ India Outplayed By South Africa In Super Eight, Suffer Their Biggest Defeat In T20 World Cup. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
- ↑ India beat Zimbabwe to keep title defence alive. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
- ↑ Sanju Samson smashes unbeaten 97 as IND enter semifinal in style. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
- ↑ India edge past England in high-scoring thriller to enter Final. International Cricket Council. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
- ↑ Match Officials for Men's T20 World Cup 2026 Final announced. International Cricket Council. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ↑ New Zealand win toss in T20 World Cup final: Did past toss winners also lift the trophy?(8 March 2026). Retrieved 13 March 2026.
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 Playing XI - IND vs NZ Final | ICC Men's T20 World Cup Squad. ESPNcricinfo(8 March 2026). Retrieved 8 March 2026.
- ↑ 31.0 31.1 India vs New Zealand Highlights, T20 World Cup 2026 Final: GOAT T20 team, India defend their title comprehensively. ESPNcricinfo(8 March 2026). Retrieved 8 March 2026.
- ↑ 32.0 32.1 India vs New Zealand Highlights, T20 World Cup 2026: IND beats NZ to defend title; Bumrah wins Player of Match, Samson awarded Player of Tournament(8 March 2026). Retrieved 8 March 2026.
- ↑ 33.0 33.1 India retain T20 World Cup with 96-run final win over New Zealand – as it happened(8 March 2026). Retrieved 8 March 2026.
- ↑ Jasprit Bumrah wins Player of match award in T20 World Cup 2026 final(2026-03-08). Retrieved 2026-03-13.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedrec-win - ↑ Suryakumar Yadav gives himself a few slaps after joining Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni as India’s T20 World Cup-winning captain. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
- ↑ Prize Money Distribution for Men's T20WC 2026 Announced. International Cricket Council(11 March 2026). Retrieved 2026-03-12.
- ↑ President Droupadi Murmu, PM Modi hail India's T20 WC triumph. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
- ↑ BCCI announces cash reward for ICC Men’s T20 World Cup-winning Team India. Board of Control for Cricket in India. Retrieved 10 March 2026.
- ↑ All the Broadcast details for ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. International Cricket Council(5 February 2026). Retrieved 5 February 2026.
- ↑ A game for the world: cricket’s growth horizons. International Cricket Council(2026-03-23). Retrieved 2026-03-23.
External links
Template:India Squad 2026 Men's T20 World Cup Template:New Zealand Squad 2026 Men's T20 World Cup Template:2026 Men's T20 World Cup Template:Men's T20 World Cup Template:International cricket in 2025-26