Given the overwhelming odds against New Zealand, it was not surprising that captain Mitchell Santner followed Australia's Pat Cummins' lead and stated that his goal would be to quiet the over one lakh spectators at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
India captain Suryakumar Yadav said that being “big brother or father” to teammates does not work in his opinion.
Abhishek Sharma's poor form also prompted the management to bring in Sanju Samson in the eleven.
Former Australia wicketkeeper-batter Brad Haddin cautioned that explosive opener Finn Allen has the power to change the game on his own if he finds his rhythm early.
The Kiwis had reached the final in 2021 but lost to their Trans-Tasman rivals Australia and were also the semi-finalists in the 2007, 2016 and 2022 editions.
A source told PTI that England, who went down to India in the second semifinal on Thursday, are expected to leave from Mumbai on Saturday evening on a direct flight to London.
West Indies and England teams are still held up in Kolkata and Mumbai respectively due to shutdown of Dubai airspace and Santner can feel how anxious some of the fellow cricketers from opposition countries are.
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner addressed the media on Saturday (March 7) ahead of the World Cup final against India.
Around 30 players will instead assemble in Pretoria for a preparatory camp, where they will be divided into two squads of 15 each for a five-match intra squad series scheduled between March 10 and 27.
The 20-team competition will conclude in the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, where over 100,000 spectators anticipate a gladiatorial brawl, with the majority hoping for an Indian victory.
India reached the final after beating England in Mumbai, while New Zealand reached the final after thrashing South Africa in Kolkata.
India are now set to take on New Zealand in the summit clash on Sunday and would be looking to be the first team to defend the World T20 crown and also the first to win the title on home soil.
Apart from the defeat against South Africa in this tournament, India’s other two T20I losses at the venue came against England during England’s tour of India in 2021, with the visitors winning both matches by eight wickets.
The world No. 12 Indian, runner up at the 2022 edition, prevailed 21-13 21-16 over the world No. 6 Chinese in exactly an hour to set up a last four clash against Canada's Victor Lai, who beat Japan's Koki Watanabe 18-21 21-17 21-15 in another quarterfinal match.
India must overcome Ahmedabad scars from Australia loss, says Shoaib Akhtar before final vs New Zealand.
As the two sides meet for the fourth time, it'll be interesting to see which team walks away with the trophy this time around.
The ICC has been empowered to look beyond India-Pakistan and it can only augur well for cricket going forward.
Gautam Gambhir and his coaching staff, along with Suryakumar Yadav, will hope that Sanju Samson can carry this rich vein of form all the way to the trophy.
To regain clarity and focus on his game, Sanju Samson revealed he shut down social media.
Australia trail by 102 runs at Stumps on Day 1.
Mohammad Kaif had previously called Mohammad Amir irrelevant.
The Windies campaign in the T20 World Cup ended last Sunday when they lost to India at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Even though India enjoy a 7-3 win loss ratio in 10 T20Is at the Narendra Modi Stadium, the team has endured some crushing defeats in big matches.
Interestingly, he has been part of the Royals camp and his CV mentions some impressive performances in First-Class cricket while representing Madhya Pradesh.
England head coach Brendon McCullum and former England captain Eoin Morgan were both stunned by Rohit’s lean and fit look.
Ignored Pakistan star Ahmed Shehzad has made big accusations on BCCI over doping regulations.
The moment between MS Dhoni and wife Sakshi was an instant hit among the fans.
If India are to win the final against a very good New Zealand team, they need to play as a collective and step up on the big day.
Samson took advantage the drop catch and loaded a furious 89 off just 42 balls, which set up the stage for an extraordinary total of 253/7 in 20 overs.
India will take on New Zealand in the final of T20 World Cup 2026 on Sunday in Ahmedabad.
After losing the toss, India had to put up a big total and Samson got them to a big one with his fiery innings of 89 off 42 deliveries with 8 fours and 7 sixes.
Left-arm fast bowler Fazal Haq Farooqi, all-rounder Gulbadin Naib, and wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Ishaq, who were part of the squad for the T20 World Cup 2026, have been dropped.
Shivam Dube in the process also set an unwanted record as he became just the second batter to be dismissed run-out thrice in a single edition of the T20 World Cup after MS Dhoni in 2007.
The cricketer in question, according to reports, was Salman Mirza, as the reports added that the cricketer was even fined by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
Abhishek Sharma was expected to set the T20 World Cup on fire with his swashbuckling hitting, but that has not been the case.
The knock by Sanju Samson laid the perfect platform for the remaining Indian batters to explode and post a gigantic total on the board.
Sanju Samson wasted no time in setting up the innings with a six and a four in the first over against England.
Shanaka didn’t seem bothered at being robbed off a win, instead thanked the crowd for their support after shaking hands with the opposition players.
Sachin Tendulkar's introvert nature seemed to have passed on to his son Arjun Tendulkar, who got married to Saaniya Chandok in Mumbai on March 5.
Apart from the cricketers, ICC chairman Jay Shah also attended the event.
Zimbabwe’s campaign came to an end after they lost their Super Eights clash against West Indies, India and South Africa.
The wedding festivities began earlier in the week with a pre-wedding ceremony on March 3 attended by cricketing greats such as Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and former India head coach Ravi Shastri.
J&K’s maiden Ranji Trophy triumph was not a fluke. It was built on a hard-nosed approach, that once characterised Delhi’s cricket, married to the raw talent in J&K. The outcome was a win for the ages
Not only cricket legends like MS Dhoni, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman are expected to attend the wedding ceremony, cricketers from Arjun Tendulkar’s IPL teams – Lucknow Super Giants and Mumbai Indians – are also expected to be in attendance as well.
Highlights | India vs England, T20 World Cup semifinal: Sanju Samson guided India to 253 runs at the Wankhede.
Cricket West Indies have stated that while revised travel arrangements are being worked out, the cricketers and support staff are safely accommodated in India.
South Africa have played in nine semi-finals across the two white-ball formats after returning from Apartheid-era isolation. They have won one, against Afghanistan in 2024.
The player is reportedly expected to appear before the Pakistan Cricket Board and may face further disciplinary action.
While India enter the clash scheduled for Thursday evening as favourites, England cannot be considered pushover.
India bowling coach has already cautioned dew of playing a big role in the contest.