India produced a dominant performance in front of a packed crowd at Narendra Modi Stadium, overwhelming New Zealand by 96 runs to secure their third ICC Men's T20 World Cup title and their second consecutive triumph. Playing as hosts and tournament favourites, India delivered a ruthless display that turned the stadium into a sea of blue and left New Zealand once again falling short on the biggest stage.

As had been the case in their thrilling semi-final against England cricket team, India were asked to bat first but responded with an explosive batting effort. Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan both scored rapid half-centuries at strike rates above 200, though their approaches differed. However, it was Sanju Samson who once again stole the spotlight. Continuing his outstanding run of form, Samson smashed 89 for the second match in a row, taking his tally to 275 runs from just 138 balls since finding his rhythm during India’s crucial win over the West Indies cricket team.

India eventually piled up a daunting 255 for 5, surpassing the 253 they had posted earlier in the tournament at Wankhede Stadium. Chasing such a huge total required something extraordinary from New Zealand, perhaps even more spectacular than their semi-final performance against the South Africa national cricket team, where Finn Allen blasted a tournament-record 33-ball century.

Instead, the chase quickly unravelled against the brilliance of Jasprit Bumrah. The Indian pace spearhead delivered a masterclass with remarkable figures of 4 for 15 in his four overs. Each dismissal came through his trademark dipping off-cutter — a delivery every batter knows is coming but still struggles to counter.

The final moment arrived when Tilak Varma safely held a catch at long-on off the part-time spin of Sharma, confirming India’s historic triumph. With this victory, India became the first team ever to successfully defend the T20 World Cup title and celebrated a long-awaited home triumph in Ahmedabad after falling short against Australia national cricket team in the final of the 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup.

For New Zealand, however, the heartbreak of falling at the final hurdle continued. Since ending their semi-final drought in 2015, they have now appeared in five International Cricket Council tournament finals — but this defeat was arguably the most one-sided of them all.