ICC T20 World Cup 2026 | India seek title defence as New Zealand aim to end ICC trophy drought

When India and New Zealand take the field in the final of the T20 World Cup at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, the two teams will be eying history of very different kinds.

On one hand, the Suryakumar Yadav-led team India are on the verge of becoming the only team to defend the T20 World Cup title and win the tournament thrice. On the other, Mitchell Santner's team eyes a first major ICC trophy since their ICC Knockout triumph -- incidentally against India -- in 2000.

Unlike most finalists, the two teams have had a roller-coaster campaigns, suffering defeats in the earlier stages of the tournament.

The 'Men in Blue' sailed through the first stage, albeit having a scare from the USA in the first match of the tournament. However, team India got a wake up call against South Africa in their opening encounter of the Super 8 stage.

Ever since, the batters, led by a rampaging Sanju Samson, have pulled India through to the semi-finals with gigantic scored, including two 250+ scores and a chase of 196 against West Indies in a must win game.

Despite such efforts, there is cause of concern with opener Abhishek Sharma and skipper Yadav not finding the volume of runs they would have liked. The lower middle-order of Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya have made valuable contributions with the bat, while Tilak Varma move down the order has proven to work with his timely cameos.

The bowling, however, has been a concern with world's No.1 spinner Varun Chakravarthy leaking runs in each of the last four matches without much success. Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh has also not been in the best of the forms. Even in the semi-final against England, India almost failed to defend 254 runs as Jacob Bethell's effort took the visitors only seven runs short of what would have been a record chase. Jasprit Bumrah has carried India's bowling with support from all-rounders Axar Patel and Pandya, giving the team important breakthroughs.

The Kiwis suffered a defeat against South Africa in the first round before going down to England in the Super 8 stage. However, a superior net-run rate to Pakistan meant that they qualified for the semi-final.

Led by openers Tim Seifert and Finn Allen's explosive partnership, New Zealand steamrolled South Africa by nine wickets to book a spot in the final.

Their bowling, led by Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson have been disciplined, while spin duo of skipper Santner and Cole McConchie have managed to keep it tight in the middle overs. They could pose a threat to Indian batters, who have not been at their best against spin in the ongoing tournament.