Who will rule T20 World Cup 2026?

AHMEDABAD: Who will rule T20 cricket? India and New Zealand will face each other in the final today.

Both teams will be in action in Ahmedabad at 6:30 pm, before the final match, famous singer Ricky Martin will create the magic of sound.

It should be remembered that the Indian team was defeated only by South Africa in the event, while New Zealand had to face defeat by South Africa in the group stage and England in the Super 8 stage.

The Kiwis defeated South Africa by 9 wickets in the semi-final, while India defeated England by 7 runs.

30 T20 matches have been played between New Zealand and India, in which India won 18 while the Kiwis won 11 matches and one match was tied.

Probable Teams

India: 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Sanju Samson (wk), 3 Ishan Kishan, 4 Tilak Varma, 5 Suryakumar Yadav (capt), 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Shivam Dube, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Arshdeep Singh, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Varun Chakravarthy/Kuldeep Yadav/Mohammed Siraj

New Zealand: 1 Tim Seifert (wk), 2 Finn Allen, 3 Rachin Ravindra, 4 Glenn Phillips, 5 Mark Chapman, 6 Daryl Mitchell, 7 Mitchell Santner (capt), 8 Cole McConchie, 9 Jimmy Neesham/Jacob Duffy, 10 Matt Henry, 11 Lockie Ferguson

Pitch and conditions

The middle pitch on the square has been earmarked for the final, as it was for the IPL final last year but not for the 2023 ODI World Cup. Since 2024, this particular surface, a mix of red and black soil, is 5-3 in favour of the chasing side. In the IPL final last year, Royal Challengers Bengaluru successfully defended 190.

Before that, Punjab Kings won batting first but only by 11 runs after scoring 243. The other successful defence was for South Africa against Canada in this World Cup.

South Africa’s easy chase against West Indies on this same surface – even though in an evening match – should tell you the pitch is full of runs.

India said they wanted to bat first in Mumbai anyway, but that might not be the case should they win the toss, even keeping in mind their failed chase of 188 against South Africa earlier in the tournament, which was on a different pitch in the same ground.