After 30 days and 55 matches, eitherIndiaor New Zealand will win the 10th edition of the 2026 T20 World Cup. History beckons for both teams as India are aiming to become the first team to successfully retain the title. NZ, on the other hand, are hoping to win their first white-ball title of the 21st century. The Black Caps have suffered heartbreak in ODI World Cup finals, a T20 World Cup final, as well as the Champions Trophy finals. And the elusive trophy continues to elude them. They won the 2021 World Test Championship trophy by defeating India in the final.
All eyes will be on the pitch going into thefinaland it will remain in focus throughout the course of the game. As per a report, the track will be abattingparadise. It's a mixture of black and red soil. There will be bounce and a score of above 200 is expected.
But one cannot rule out the toss factor. The toss will play a huge role if there's dew. In case the captain thinks that there will be dew in the second innings, the captain winning the toss might opt to bowl first and take the advantage in the second innings.
Abhishek Sharma has struggled for runs in the T20 World Cup. Photo: AP
There is no reason for India to make a change in their playing XI despite Abhishek Sharma's struggles. The team management has backed him to the hilt and Abhishek will also play the final. He will kick off the innings with Sanju Samson.
Samson's addition to the playing XI has been a boon for India and he has played a huge role in India reaching the final. Jasprit Bumrah's vital contributions can't be ignored. All in all, it has been a great team effort and India now have just one more hurdle to cross.
New Zealand aren't expected to tinker with their playing XI either. They would bank on Matt Henry to get early wickets and derail India's batting.
India's likely playing XI:Suryakumar Yadav (Captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah
New Zealand's likely playing XI:Mitchell Santner (Captain), Tim Seifert, Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Cole McConchie, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson
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