India and New Zealand are set to meet in the thrilling final showdown of the T20 World Cup on Sunday at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Both teams, having outperformed their opponents during the group stage and Super 8, will aim to write a new chapter in the tournament’s history. India enter the final as defending champions and one of the most successful sides in the history of the men's T20 World Cup. This is their fourth appearance in the T20 World Cup final, the highest by any team so far. 

And they have the opportunity to achieve plenty of historic milestones. If India win the final, they will become the first host nation to lift the Men’s T20 World Cup trophy on home soil. Secondly, they will become the first team to successfully defend the title in the tournament’s history. However, there is one statistic India will be eager to change. In their three previous meetings with New Zealand in T20 World Cups, India have never managed to secure a victory. 

This final provides the perfect stage for them to finally break that streak. India's campaign has been superb. During the group stage, they remained unbeaten, although their performances were not always as dominant as expected. A heavy defeat against South Africa briefly disrupted their rhythm, but the Indian team responded strongly, beating Zimbabwe and West Indies to secure their place in the semi-final. In the semifinal clash against England, India held their nerve in a high-scoring battle, securing a seven-run win to book their place in the final. 

For New Zealand, this final represents another chance to secure a major white-ball trophy. The Kiwis are appearing in their second T20 World Cup final and are aiming for their first men’s limited-overs ICC title since the 2000 ICC Champions Trophy. Under the leadership of Mitchell Santner, New Zealand will look to not get carried away and create history of their own.

Head-to-head

Matches - 30

IND won - 18

NZ won - 12

No result- 3

India possible XI: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy/Kuldeep Yadav

New Zealand possible XI: Tim Seifert (wk), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner (c), Cole McConchie, Jimmy Neesham, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson