Matt Henry is one of New Zealand’s finest fast bowlers, but the T20 World Cup final became a night he would rather forget. His opening over went for 21 runs — including four wides — and set a tone that New Zealand’s bowlers were never able to reverse. India posted 255 and went on to win by 96 runs, retaining the World Cup and becoming the first men’s team in history to defend the title. Henry’s opener was just one expensive spell among many in a difficult evening for the Black Caps.
The powerplay produced 92 for no loss for India — a number that equalled the World Cup record. Abhishek Sharma’s 50 off 18 balls was the centrepiece, and Sanju Samson’s 89 off 46 and Ishan Kishan’s 54 off 25 continued the assault through the middle overs. By the drinks break at the 14th over, India had already reached 191 for one, and a score in excess of 300 was briefly discussed.
A late flurry of wickets, including Suryakumar Yadav’s golden duck and the improbable sight of Neesham taking three wickets in an over for one run, brought some drama to the innings’ conclusion. But Shivam Dube’s 26 off eight balls in the final over pushed the total to 255, comfortably beyond New Zealand’s means.
Bumrah’s three-wicket haul with slow yorkers effectively ended the match as a contest, and New Zealand were eventually dismissed for 159. It was the fourth World Cup final defeat for the Black Caps since 2015. For India, it was their second consecutive title and a moment of pure sporting triumph.
India’s home World Cup victory will be remembered as one of cricket’s great achievements. In front of 100,000 passionate supporters, they delivered exactly what was expected of them. That is the mark of a champion team.