India Lift T20 World Cup Title - (Source: AFP)
Suryakumar Yadav and his men have scripted history as India lifted their third T20 World Cup title. The hosts handed New Zealand a 96 run defeat to become the first team to win consecutive titles.
India, who are now the most successful team in the history of the tournament pulled out the biggest win in the T20 World Cup history. With the feat, SKY joined the likes of Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni in title-winning captains.
New Zealand Regrets Bowling First In All-Important Final
New Zealand won the toss and opted to field first. The decision turned out to be a nightmare because India went all guns blazing. Abhishek Sharma returned to form and slammed a 18-ball fifty, which is the fastest in the finals in the history of the tournament.
Despite Abhishek's courageous fifty, Sanju Samson again stole the limelight as he again slammed 89 (46), which featured five fours and eight sixes. The duo stitched a quickfire 98-run opening stand.
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Ishan Kishan too rose to the occasion and slammed 54 (25). The Kiwis did return to the the hunt when Jimmy Neesham took three wickets in a single over. Notably, Suryakumar Yadav scored a golden duck.
The Men in Blue were 203/1 after 15 overs but scored next 25 runs in 20 balls and lost four more wickets. India were eyeing 300 but scoring 250 also seemed difficult. However, Shivam Dube played another crucial knock and slammed 24 runs off the last over to help India put 255 runs on the board.
New Zealand Lose Tempo Despite Positive Start
The Kiwis got off to a brilliant start and raced off to a 30-run opening stand. However, Axar Patel drew the first blood and got rid of the dangerous Finn Allen, who returned to the pavilion for a low score of 9 (7).
Tim Seifert didn't lose hope and was unfazed by the wickets from the other end. The right-handed batter scored a quickfire 52 (26), which featured two fours and five sixes. Other than Seifert, Mitchell Santner was the only other batter who looked dangerous.
Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah Rock Kiwis With Sensational Bowling
Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah were the stars with the ball and the local stars were on-point in the finals. Axar took a three-wicket haul in his three overs. He took the scalps of Finn Allen, Glenn Phillips, and Daryl Mitchell, which were all important wickets.
Jasprit Bumrah took a four-wicket haul. Interestingly, after Rachin's wicket, Jasprit Bumrah cleaned up the tail and registered the figures of 4/15 in his four overs. The bowling was so on-point that India opted for Abhishek Sharma to bowl the 19th over of the match and took the final wicket to help India clinch their 3rd World Cup title.
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