India successfully defended their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup title after defeating New Zealand national cricket team by 96 runs in the final at Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday.

With this victory, India national cricket team became the first team to win the tournament three times and also the first to retain the title. Meanwhile, New Zealand’s wait for their first white-ball World Cup trophy continues.

Batting first, India posted a huge total of 255 for five wickets. Openers Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma gave India a strong start with a 98-run partnership. Samson scored 89 runs, while Abhishek made 52. At number three, Ishan Kishan added a quick 54 runs to help India reach the massive total.

New Zealand bowler James Neesham took three wickets in one over towards the end of the innings, slowing India’s scoring rate slightly.

Chasing 256 runs, New Zealand lost early wickets and struggled to build partnerships. Despite fighting innings from Tim Seifert (52) and captain Mitchell Santner (43), the team was bowled out for 159 runs in 19 overs.

Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah delivered an outstanding performance, taking four wickets for just 15 runs and was named Player of the Match.

Samson, who scored three consecutive 80-plus innings in the tournament, was awarded Player of the Tournament for his impressive performance throughout the competition.