Can Surya do what Dhoni and Kohli cannot? T20 WC numbers against New Zealand may worry India

India will take on New Zealand in the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Ahmedabad on Sunday, with the hosts aiming to achieve several milestones in the tournament’s history.The defending champions hope to become the first team to defend their T20 World Cup title and the first team to win the tournament three times. India won the last edition of the tournament in 2024 after defeating South Africa in the final.On February 22, the Indian team suffered a heavy defeat to South Africa in the Super 8 round, but then recovered and won the remaining Super 8 rounds and entered the semi-finals. They then defeated England in a close, high-scoring semi-final.More than 100,000 spectators are expected to watch the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. India will aim to repeat as world champions in front of a domestic crowd, while New Zealand will be hoping to win the trophy for the first time.India entered the final as hosts and defending champions and had recently defeated New Zealand in the bilateral series. However, New Zealand maintain a strong record against India in the T20 World Cup, having won all three previous matches between the two teams.

T20 World Cup 2007: New Zealand win by 10 runs in Johannesburg

In the first ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori showed a strong all-round performance. He made 4 of 20 shots and scored 15 points on five goals to help New Zealand beat India in the group stage.New Zealand’s target was 191 balls. India were 1 for 76 when Vettori attacked and dismissed Robin Uthappa and current India head coach Gautam Gambhir, who scored 51 off 33 balls.Spin bowling then tightened New Zealand’s control. Jeetan Patel dismissed Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni was run out for 24 and Vettori later returned to remove Irfan Pathan and Dinesh Karthik.Earlier, Brendon McCullum topped the list with 45, while Craig McMillan and Jacob Oram continued to add to their tally towards the end, taking New Zealand to a total that India could not chase.

T20 World Cup 2016: New Zealand win by 47 runs in Nagpur

In 2016, the two teams met again in Nagpur. New Zealand defeated India by 79 runs and defended the title by 126 runs, with three spinners taking 9 wickets.Corey Anderson scored 34 off 42 balls for New Zealand and Luke Ronchi finished eighth with 21 off 11 balls.India struggled with spin bowling, with Virat Kohli scoring 23 and MS Dhoni scoring 30. India were already under pressure when Ish Sodhi dismissed Kohli for 5 for 39 in the ninth over.Dhoni was dismissed in the 18th over and Adam Milne removed Ashish Nehra three balls later to take the final wicket.Nathan McCullum scored 2 points on 15 shots, Sodhi scored 3 points on 18 shots, and Mitchell Santner scored 18 points on 4 points on 11 shots. Milne was the only fast bowler to take a wicket in the match.

T20 World Cup 2021: New Zealand win by 8 wickets in Dubai

India and New Zealand meet again in Dubai T20 World Cup 2021. India scored 110 for 7 and New Zealand easily caught up.Trent Boult took one wicket in the powerplay and then took two more in the 19th over. Ish Sodhi took 2 for 17, Tim Southee took 1 for 26 and Adam Milne took 1 for 30.Mitchell Santner did not take a wicket but bowled an economical spell of 0 for 15, which included 11 dot balls.In reply, Martin Guptill and Daryl Mitchell started the chase well. Mitchell scored 49 runs off 35 balls before being dismissed with New Zealand needing 15 runs. Captain Kane Williamson then completed the chase to seal the win.India and New Zealand go head-to-head in T20 World CupPlayed: 3New Zealand: 3India: 0India and New Zealand will meet again in the T20 World Cup final on Sunday, March 8 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.The two teams also reached the Champions Trophy final in 2025 and will meet again in the final of the ICC Championship nearly a year later.