Kanpur, March 8
India are ready to defend their title against New Zealand in the final of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, and the Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav's childhood coach Kapil Pandey stressed the need for the bowlers to do well in the summit clash.
Speaking to ANI on Sunday, Kapil Pandey said, "It's a big ground. All our batsmen will have to play cautiously and score big, as they did against England. I want Abhishek Sharma and our opening batsman, Sanju Samson, to get off to a good start, and then Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, and Tilak Varma to score another big total, like they did against England. Set a target of at least 250 runs, which will be very difficult for New Zealand to achieve. Our bowlers must bowl well today. If they (New Zealand) bat first, they should restrict them to a low total, at least around 175."
Kuldeep Yadav did not get many chances to play in the tournament except for a match against Pakistan, where he picked up one wicket while conceding 14 runs.
Going into the final, India are chasing a few firsts - first to defend a T20 World Cup title, first host team to win the T20 World Cup and the first to three T20 World Cup championships. For New Zealand, the biggest challenges will be how to keep the star-studded Indian batting line-up relatively quiet and how to deal with Jasprit Bumrah's unerring line and length.
India and New Zealand took contrasting paths to the final; they entered the contest on the back of strong batting performances in the semi-final. New Zealand lost to South Africa in the group stage and to England in the Super Eights but were dominant in the final four. After restricting the Proteas to 169/8, New Zealand raced to a nine-wicket win in 12.5 overs, courtesy of a stunning 33-ball hundred by Finn Allen, the fastest in T20 World Cups.
Meanwhile, for India, who were perfect in the group stage, the only blip was the loss to South Africa in the opening Super Eight contest. The semi-final against England was a high-scoring thriller, with India piling on 253/7 and England falling just seven runs short.
In their head-to-head clashes, history may favour New Zealand, but form is with India. The Black Caps have not lost a match to India in the T20 World Cup, having scored victories in 2007, 2016 and 2021. However, the host nation was dominant in their recent T20I series in India, with a comfortable 4-1 win.
Squads:
New Zealand Squad: Tim Seifert(w), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner(c), Cole McConchie, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Devon Conway, Kyle Jamieson, Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy.
India Squad: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson(w), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav.
- ANI
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