From their first match to their last, India approached this T20 World Cup with the certainty of a side that knew the trophy was theirs to lose. They never looked like losing it. Sunday’s final was a 96-run victory over New Zealand, a score of 255, a bowling performance led by Bumrah’s three priceless wickets, and a historic achievement that had never been accomplished before in men’s T20 cricket.
India’s batting in the powerplay was the perfect capsule of everything that has made them so dominant. Ninety-two runs in six overs without losing a wicket, equalling the all-time World Cup record. Duffy conceded 15, Ferguson 24, Henry 21. The New Zealand bowlers were not bowling badly — they were simply facing a team operating at a level beyond what any preparation can adequately account for.
Three fifties across the top order — Sharma in 18 balls, Kishan in 23, and Samson in 33 before going on to 89 — built a total that seemed destined for 300. A four-wicket spell in the middle overs, including Neesham’s bizarre one-run, three-wicket over, cut that ambition short. But 255 was still posted, and it was 96 more than New Zealand could manage in reply.
New Zealand’s batting was a disappointment. Allen made nine. The openers combined for very little. Seifert fought to fifty. Bumrah took three wickets with unreadable slow yorkers. Two India fielders dropped catches, but the result was never in question from the moment Allen walked back to the pavilion in the third over. New Zealand finished on 159.
India lifted the T20 World Cup for the second consecutive time, the first men’s team in history to do so and the first side to win it at home. They played every game in this tournament as if winning was not just the goal but the expectation. They were right. This tournament was theirs, from the first match to the last, from the anthem to the trophy. India: undeniable, unstoppable, and historic.