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India
New Zealand
India and New Zealand will meet in the final of the 2026 T20 World Cup at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Both teams come after strong campaigns. India remained unbeaten in the group stage and suffered only one loss in the Super Eights against South Africa. They reached the final after defeating England in the semi-final.
New Zealand also reached the final after a competitive run. They lost once in the group stage against SA and suffered another defeat against England in the Super Eights. However, they will be confident after beating the unbeaten SA in the semi-final.
India will aim to win their third T20 World Cup title and defend the title. New Zealand will look to win their first T20 World Cup after finishing runners-up in 2021. Head-to-head numbers favour India. India has won 4 of the last 5 matches against NZ.
Only 2 of the 6 matches played at this venue in this tournament have produced more than 18 sixes, showing that the surface has generally kept big hitting under control.
The betting tip is...
Total Sixes - Under 18.5
69 %
31 %
IndiaNew ZealandAbhishek Sharma is the only batter yet to contribute regularly, with just 89 runs so far. Sanju Samson will continue to open alongside him, providing early momentum. Samson will arrive in strong form after scoring 97* off 50 against WI and 89 off 42 against England in the semi-final. He has 232 runs in 4 matches at a SR of 201.73.
Ishan Kishan also looks settled in the middle order with 263 runs in 8 matches at a SR of 189. Suryakumar has 242 runs in 8 matches. Dube has 209 runs at a strike rate of 159.54 and scored 43 off 25 after moving to number four in the last match. Tilak and Pandya will have 199 runs each at SR of 155 and 163, respectively.
Chakaravarthy and Axar will lead the spin attack with 13 and 8 wickets. Bumrah and Arshdeep have 10 and 9 wickets respectively. Hardik Pandya has 8 wickets while Dube has 5.
Samson, Kishan and Suryakumar are the key batters.
Predicted Lineup: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah
NZβs batting relies heavily on the opening pair of Tim Seifert and Finn Allen. Seifert leads the scoring with 274 runs in 7 innings at a SR of 161. Allen provided explosive starts with 289 runs at a strike rate of 203.52.
The pair has 31 sixes in the tournament. Allen enters the final after Glenn Phillips has 176 runs in 5 innings at a SR of 160. Rachin Ravindra has 128 runs, below his usual standards. Mark Chapman scored 91 runs in 4 innings while Daryl Mitchell managed only 63 runs.
The bowling attack has depended on collective efforts. Matt Henry and Rachin Ravindra lead the wicket charts with 9 and 11 wickets respectively. Lockie Ferguson has 6 in 6. Glenn Phillips has 3 wickets, while Duffy has taken 3. Captain Mitchell Santner has managed only 2 wickets.
Seifert, Allen and Phillips are the key batters.
Predicted Lineup: Tim Seifert (wk), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner (c), Cole McConchie, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson
India will enter the final with a slight advantage due to home conditions. India has already played two matches at this venue, with one win and one loss, while NZ lost their only match here against SA. Ahmedabad has not produced many high totals in this tournament. Only one team has crossed 200 in 6 matches played here.
This surface has generally rewarded disciplined bowling and controlled batting. Big partnerships will matter more than constant power-hitting. Only two matches here have seen more than 18 sixes. That trend will likely continue in a pressure-filled final. Both teams will focus more on building partnerships rather than constant big hitting.
