Virat Kohli was all praise for the “explosive” brand of cricket that India played throughout the 2026 T20 World Cup which led to them winning the trophy. Suryakumar Yadav and Co. beat New Zealand by by 96 runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad to win the title. It made India the first team to succesfully defend their T20 World Cup title, with Kohli playing a starring role in the team’s victory in the last tournament in 2024. This was also India’s third title and they overtook West Indies and England to become the most succesfull team in the men’s tournament thus far.
“Champions… Phenomenal win for Team India in Ahmedabad. Absolutely no match for the explosive cricket played by us throughout the tournament. Brilliant character shown by the boys to keep fighting in tough situations and become world champions once again. Congratulations to all the players and all the members of the management for achieving this feat. Jai Hind,” said Kohli in a post on X.
A 46-ball 89 by Sanju Samson, coupled with half-centuries from Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan and a sensational finishing act from Shivam Dube (26* in 8 balls) got India to a total of 255/5 batting first. Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah then led the way with the ball, as he did in 2024, finishing with figures of 4/15 as New Zealand were all out for 159.
Kohli was player of the match in the final of the 2024 T20 World Cup, which marked the end of a 11-year trophy drought in ICC tournaments for India. He had previously led India in a rather forgettable campaign in the 2021 T20 World Cup. Kohli announced his retirement from T20Is after the victory in the 2024 T20 World Cup, as did then-captain Rohit Sharma. The latter was present in Ahmedabad on Sunday as the ICC’s ambassador for the tournament.