If you’ve landed here searching for the India national cricket team vs New Zealand national cricket team match scorecard, you’re not alone — few contests in modern cricket have been as gripping, or as consequential, as the recent run of India-New Zealand clashes. Between a full-blooded five-match T20I series and a T20 World Cup final that will be talked about for years, these two sides have given fans an entire season’s worth of drama in a few short months. Here’s the complete scorecard breakdown, match by match, along with the story behind the numbers.
India vs New Zealand, ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 Final — Full Scorecard
Venue: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad Date: March 8, 2026 (day-night match) Toss: New Zealand won the toss and chose to field Result: India won by 96 runs Player of the Match: Jasprit Bumrah
There’s a certain symmetry to India lifting the T20 World Cup on home soil at the same ground that has hosted so many of the country’s biggest cricketing nights — and this final didn’t disappoint. Chasing nothing but history, India batted first and simply took the game away from New Zealand inside the powerplay, before Jasprit Bumrah made sure there was no way back for the Black Caps.
India Innings — 255/5 (20 overs)
| Batter | Dismissal | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sanju Samson (wk) | c sub (McConchie) b Neesham | 89 | 46 | 5 | 8 |
| Abhishek Sharma | c Seifert b Ravindra | 52 | 21 | 6 | 3 |
| Ishan Kishan | c Chapman b Neesham | 54 | 25 | 4 | 4 |
| Hardik Pandya | c Santner b Henry | 18 | 13 | 1 | 1 |
| Suryakumar Yadav (c) | c Ravindra b Neesham | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Tilak Varma | not out | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Shivam Dube | not out | 26 | 8 | 3 | 2 |
| Extras | (8w) | 8 | – | – | – |
New Zealand bowling: James Neesham 4-0-46-3, Matt Henry 4-0-49-1, Jacob Duffy 3-0-42-0
Samson and Abhishek Sharma tore into the New Zealand attack from ball one, and even a jolt of losing Suryakumar Yadav first ball couldn’t slow India down — Ishan Kishan and a rampaging Shivam Dube cameo at the death (26 off just 8 balls) took the total past 250, a total that always looked out of reach on this surface.
New Zealand Innings — 159 all out (19 overs)
| Batter | Dismissal | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Seifert (wk) | c Kishan b Varun | 52 | 26 | 2 | 5 |
| Finn Allen | c Tilak Varma b Patel | 9 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| Rachin Ravindra | c Kishan b Bumrah | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Glenn Phillips | b Patel | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| Mark Chapman | b Pandya | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Daryl Mitchell | c Kishan b Patel | 17 | 11 | 0 | 2 |
| Mitchell Santner (c) | b Bumrah | 43 | 35 | 3 | 2 |
| James Neesham | b Bumrah | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| Matt Henry | b Bumrah | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Lockie Ferguson | not out | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Jacob Duffy | c Tilak Varma b Abhishek Sharma | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Extras | (4b, 1lb, 7w) | 12 | – | – | – |
India bowling: Jasprit Bumrah 4-0-15-4, Axar Patel 3-0-27-3, Varun Chakravarthy 3-0-39-1
Tim Seifert briefly threatened a heist with a punchy 52, and Mitchell Santner fought a lone rearguard for 43, but this was Bumrah’s stage. Four wickets for just 15 runs from his four overs strangled any hope of a New Zealand comeback, and by the time he cleaned up the tail, the result was a formality. With the win, India became the first team in history to win three men’s T20 World Cup titles, successfully defending the crown in front of a packed, roaring 86,824-strong crowd.
The Build-Up: India vs New Zealand T20I Series, January 2026
Long before Ahmedabad, this rivalry had already produced fireworks in a five-match T20I series across the country. India won it 4-1, but the scoreline barely captures how competitive — and occasionally chaotic — it got.
1st T20I, Nagpur (January 21): India 238/7 beat New Zealand 190/7 by 48 runs. Abhishek Sharma set the tone with a blistering 84 off 35 balls, his fastest fifty against New Zealand in T20Is, while Rinku Singh’s unbeaten 44 gave India a total well beyond reach. Glenn Phillips fought back with 78 off 40 for New Zealand, but early strikes from Arshdeep Singh had already done the damage.
2nd T20I, Raipur (January 23): New Zealand posted 208/6, built around Mitchell Santner’s unbeaten 47 and Rachin Ravindra’s 44 — a total that, on paper, “probably needed 300.” India didn’t just chase it down, they obliterated it. Ishan Kishan smashed a 21-ball fifty (India’s fastest against New Zealand), Suryakumar Yadav returned to blazing form with 82 off 37, and Shivam Dube finished the job with an unbeaten 36. India got home in 15.2 overs — a seven-wicket win that stands as one of India’s fastest 200-plus chases in T20I history.
3rd T20I, Guwahati (January 25): India made it 3-0 and put the series out of reach as Abhishek Sharma exploded again, bringing up a fifty in just 14 balls — the second-fastest in Indian T20I history. Suryakumar’s unbeaten 57 sealed a comfortable win.
4th T20I, Visakhapatnam (January 28): New Zealand finally hit back. Tim Seifert (62) and Devon Conway (44) gave the Black Caps a flying start en route to 215/7, and although Shivam Dube counter-punched with a stunning 65 off just 23 balls — the third-fastest fifty by an Indian in T20Is — India were bowled out for 165, with Mitchell Santner (3/26) doing the damage. New Zealand won by 50 runs.
5th T20I, Thiruvananthapuram (January 31): India closed out the series in style. Ishan Kishan brought up a magnificent century (100 off 42 balls), and with Suryakumar Yadav again among the runs, India piled up 271/5. Arshdeep Singh then ran through New Zealand with a maiden five-wicket haul (5/51) as India won by 46 runs to seal the series 4-1.
Head-to-Head Snapshot
| Fixture | Result | Margin |
|---|---|---|
| 1st T20I, Nagpur | India won | 48 runs |
| 2nd T20I, Raipur | India won | 7 wickets |
| 3rd T20I, Guwahati | India won | — |
| 4th T20I, Visakhapatnam | New Zealand won | 50 runs |
| 5th T20I, Thiruvananthapuram | India won | 46 runs |
| T20 World Cup 2026 Final, Ahmedabad | India won | 96 runs |
Interestingly, the two sides also crossed paths in a three-match ODI series around the same window, which New Zealand won 2-1 — their first-ever ODI series victory on Indian soil. It’s a reminder that even a side thumped in the T20Is can bite back the moment the format changes, and it’s part of what makes this rivalry so unpredictable.
What Made This Rivalry Special
What stands out watching this stretch of cricket back-to-back isn’t just the results — it’s how different each match felt. Nagpur was about Abhishek Sharma’s fearlessness. Raipur turned into one of the great modern T20 chases, the kind that has commentators reaching for record books mid-innings. Visakhapatnam was New Zealand reminding everyone why they’re perennial knockout-stage specialists, even after being written off. And Ahmedabad, in the end, was pure theatre: a World Cup final that started as a batting carnival and finished as a bowling exhibition, with Jasprit Bumrah producing the kind of spell that decides tournaments and cements legacies.
For India, the win in Ahmedabad wasn’t just another trophy — it made them the first team ever to win three T20 World Cups, a statement of dominance built on exactly the kind of depth this series showcased: batters capable of taking any attack apart, and in Bumrah, a bowler capable of taking a game away from anyone in four overs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the India vs New Zealand T20 World Cup 2026 final?
India won by 96 runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on March 8, 2026, defending their title and becoming the first team to win three T20 World Cups.
Who was Player of the Match in the India vs New Zealand final?
Jasprit Bumrah, for his match-winning 4/15.
Who won the India vs New Zealand T20I series in January 2026?
India won the five-match series 4-1.
What was the highest individual score across the series?
Ishan Kishan’s unbeaten century (100 off 42 balls) in the fifth T20I at Thiruvananthapuram.
Also Read: IND vs SA Scorecard: How South Africa Stunned India by 76 Runs to End a 12-Match World Cup Streak
