India and New Zealand are set to clash in the 2026 T20 World Cup final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Although the Men in Blue would take confidence from the fact that they beat the Black Caps
4-1 in a five-T20I series just before the marquee tournament, bilateral results hardly matter in summit clashes.
What will matter here, especially because it’s the shortest format, is individuals standing up for the team. In the semi-final, it was Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma with the bat; Jasprit Bumrah and Pandya with the ball; and Axar Patel in the field.
Considering that India couldn’t find many individual batting contributions the last time they played a final here, the infamous 2023 World Cup final, we’ll look at the three top-scorers at this ground for T20Is, who the team can rely upon this time. Do note that we are looking at the top three from those in the current team.
#3 Shivam Dube
Among the current team members, all-rounder Shivam Dube is India’s third-highest run-scorer at the Narendra Modi Stadium. The right-hander has played only three T20Is here but scored 118 runs at a strike-rate of 166.19.
His exploits include a 66 off 31 against the Netherlands and a fighting 42 off 37 for India in that big, humbling loss against South Africa. With New Zealand likely to field two left-arm spinners, Mitchell Santner and Rachin Ravindra, expect him to have a key role to play again.
#2 Suryakumar Yadav
Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav’s form has been absolutely poor since the tournament opener against the USA. But he’ll be one of the few players who should look back at his record at this ground and take confidence — 170 runs in six T20I innings at a strike-rate of 144.06.
His last three matches here haven’t gone well, including the Netherlands and South Africa matches. But in the three before that, he scored 57, 32 and 24, respectively, with a consistent strike rate of 180-plus.
#1 Hardik Pandya
Former Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya just loves to play at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Despite coming in as a finisher, he has scored 227 runs here in eight innings, with a strike rate of 160.99.
Like most players on the team, Pandya couldn’t contribute well against the Proteas, but he has several good 30s and 40s to his name here. Crucially, he also scored a 17-ball 30 against New Zealand here in 2023.
