New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner admitted that India were the better side in the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. The hosts delivered a dominant performance in front of a packed home crowd.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Santner praised his team’s run to the final. However, he acknowledged that India controlled the game on the night.
“Proud of the boys to make it this far. Obviously, we had some challenges throughout, but at each stage we put up a good fight. Today, we got outplayed by a great team in front of a great crowd. To see a big sea of blue, obviously India were home favourites,” Santner said.
The New Zealand skipper also spoke about the pressure of playing a World Cup at home. He said India handled it well throughout the tournament.
“Playing a home World Cup comes with a lot of pressure. But yeah, SKY (Suryakumar Yadav) and the boys should be very, very proud. Different guys stood up at different stages. In the Super Eight and semi-finals, we put up a good fight, but tonight we were obviously outplayed,” he added.
India built their victory on a powerful batting display. New Zealand had won the toss and asked India to bat first.
Sanju Samson led the charge with 89 off 46 balls. His innings included five fours and eight sixes. Abhishek Sharma added a quick 52 off 21 balls, hitting six fours and three sixes. Ishan Kishan scored 54 from 25 deliveries. He struck four boundaries and four sixes.
Shivam Dube provided the late flourish. He remained unbeaten on 26 from just eight balls. India finished with a massive total of 255 for 5 in 20 overs.
New Zealand struggled in the chase. Tim Seifert fought hard and scored 52 off 26 balls. His innings included two fours and five sixes. But the target proved too big.
India’s bowlers stayed in control. Axar Patel took three wickets for 27 runs. Jasprit Bumrah led the attack with four wickets for 15 runs.
India sealed a convincing win. The victory gave them their third T20 World Cup title. They also became the first team to defend the trophy. It was another historic moment for the Men in Blue.
