India retain T20 World Cup with crushing win over New Zealand; Sanju stars with 89 in final

India retained the T20 World Cup with a crushing 96-run win over New Zealand in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday. Suryakumar Yadav's India have become the first side to lift consecutive titles and the first to lift a T20 World Cup at home.

India's imposing total of 255/5 was the highest posted in a T20 World Cup final. New Zealand hardly posed a threat in the chase and were bundled out for 159 runs.

Sanju Samson's masterful 89 off 46 was the highlight of the Indian batting. But with the ball, too, India were ruthless. The incredible Jasprit Bumrah finished with enviable figures of 4/15 from 4 overs, while local boy Axar Patel claimed 3/27.

Opener Tim Seifert's 26-ball 52 was the only effort worthy of an epic chase. But it was never going to be enough. Bumrah cleaned up Mitchell Santner for 43, ending the New Zealand skipper's resistance. Three of his wickets were bowled, reflecting the precision of his bowling.

Earlier, India's top three were right on the money, with Abhishek Sharma making a 21-ball 52 and Ishan Kishan adding 54 from 25 to set the tone for a massive total. The top three smashed 15 sixes, with Sanju accounting for eight. The Kerala wicketkeeper batter has been in sublime form recently, with scores of 97 not out and another 89 in his last three innings.

Suryakumar Yadav did not win the toss, but being asked to bat first, it did not turn out to be a bad option because Sanju and Abhishek gave India an electric start by scoring 92/0 in the powerplay (6 overs).

The left-hander Abhishek reached his fifty in just 18 deliveries. Rachin Ravindra got Abhishek to edge behind to give New Zealand their first wicket. India crossed 200 (203/1) in 15 overs.

However, India so nearly gave up the advantage, going from 203/2 to 226/5 in 32 balls. Indian batters found it hard to hit through the line against James Neesham's slow medium pace. Neesham had somehow managed to extract wickets with his gripping deliveries and took himself to 3/13 from 2 overs and 3/22 from 3 overs at the end of the 18th. Shivam Dube denied the New Zealander a memorable spell by smashing 24 runs in the 20th over.

Brief scores: India 255/5 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 89, Ishan Kishan 54, Abhishek Sharma 52, Shivam Dube 26 not out, James Neesham 3/46) bt New Zealand 159 in 19 overs (Tim Seifert 52, Mitchell Santner 43, Jasprit Bumrah 4/14, Axar Patel 3/27)