The World Cup trophy accompanied India on its successful achievement with a resounding victory of 96 runs against New Zealand in Ahmedabad. Thus, India completed its third straight win in the T20 World Cup. As India achieved another successful title defence in the T20 World Cup, this marks the first time any team in the history of this tournament has been able to defend the same title for more than a single year.
It felt as if this dramatic conclusion of such an exciting 2021 championship displayed a long, loud run-on sentence with a final full stop declared through this match result – not just a home win or Argentina’s third World Cup title but also proof that no matter where a team plays or when a tournament is held, there will always be an opportunity to create something new from something familiar.
The final was a masterclass of power hitting combined with lethal pace bowling throughout the match. The player that stood out in the final was Sanju Samson, who scored an incredible 89 runs off only 46 deliveries and helped keep the scoreboard ticking along with his partner Abhishek Sharma, while the second batting partnership with Ishan Kishan allowed India to amass a record total of 255 runs for the loss of only 5 wickets, providing New Zealand with a mountain to climb in pursuit of victory.
Sadly for New Zealand, the pursuit fell apart quickly as they lost their middle-order batting (Jasprit Bumrah has had the best bowling figure of the tournament: 4 wickets for 15 runs) to narrow down the chances of winning the championship before the 19th over when New Zealand was out of players, having scored only 159 runs!
The set for this game was huge. It occurred at the famous Narendra Modi Stadium, a huge and beautiful building that is considered the largest single location in the world for cricket. There are approximately 132,000 seats in the stadium, yet the hosts of the game reported that there were approximately 86,000 fans at the final on Sunday. Nevertheless, the game had an outstanding atmosphere on both sides, with large amounts of noise and colour. The atmosphere made everything happen louder than it would normally, so sixes, yorkers, and appeals reverberated around the stadium.
In addition to the numbers, there were also some human stories in relation to the game. Sanju Samson’s comeback after his erratic performances recently could be compared to one of those sports films (e.g., ‘One Hundred Forty One’). This is in addition to Jasprit Bumrah’s composure at the end, showing that he is the best bowler to ever bowl (arguably) in a T20 match through his excellent ability to bowl consistent and successful death overs. As captain, Suryakumar Yadav led the team with his excellent skills, becoming the third Indian captain in history to claim the T20 World Cup. For New Zealand, they again finished as near-misses in a final and produced an incredible display of resilience to continue their quest for those last pieces of silverware to be added to their very impressive full set.
There were several factors leading to the match that made it especially interesting: A mixed-soil wicket that was expected to produce lovely bouncing balls with minimal spin; India’s depth with the bat; and New Zealand’s form from the previous matches during the power play with Finn Allen and Tim Seifert contributing – these factors were all in play at the beginning of how teams were approaching the plan for the match. The experts matched up the three most important players by way of pre-game checklists — Samson vs NZ Pace Plan, Bumrah vs Finn Allen (range), and the XI (spinners) of IND vs NZ middle order. Overall, these battles unfolded as anticipated, except that India likely exceeded expectations by approximately a factor of two in each instance.
Previews of today’s match:
- Pitch & conditions — Expected to be batting friendly (true bounce); dew could affect death overs, a key to success in the match.
- Key tactical battle will be depth & strength of IND batting vs disciplined bowling of NZ; Whoever controls the power play of this match will control the outcome of the match.
- Key players to watch in TODAY’S match: Samson (form, strike rate); Bumrah (death bowling); Finn Allen (x-factor power hitter).
The celebrations will extend across the entire cricket community following the conclusion of the tournament in Ahmedabad. Statistically, the tournament provided new records and reawakened old discussions about how to construct balance in the modern T20 format by providing a prioritisation of depth and developing finishers while also recognising the value of hosting a home crowd in terms of providing a mental advantage. For the neutral viewers, this tournament final posed and subsequently answered an old question in that, in today’s chaotic and calculated style of T20 cricket (which includes elements of both), the team that is able to control both bat and ball, while succeeding under pressure, will typically write the final chapter of any match.
