India and New Zealand will lock horns against each other on Sunday in the final of the T20 World Cup at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. This is the fourth time the two teams are facing in the final of an ICC event. On that note, let us have a look at what happened in the earlier three finals in ICC events:
1. ICC Knockout Trophy, 2000
The first-ever ICC final was played between the two teams in 2000 in Nairobi. After being invited to bat first, India put up a brilliant show, posting 264 runs in their 50 overs, on the back to a stunning century from skipper Sourav Ganguly. Sachin Tendulkar also scored 69 runs, but the rest of the batters didn’t contribute much. New Zealand were behind in the run-chase and were 132/5 at one stage before Chris Cairns came out and smashed a majestic ton. His knock of 102 runs took New Zealand home in the final over of the innings as the Kiwis lifted an ICC trophy for the first time.
2. WTC Final, 2021
New Zealand were the winners of the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship. It was a low-scoring final between two strong sides as India scored 217 runs in the first innings and then the Kiwis could only take a 32-run lead in response. However, Team India collapsed in the second innings as well for just 170 runs as Kyle Jamieson picked up seven wickets in the game. The BlackCaps required 140 runs to get over the line which they did with eight wickets in hand to end their 21-year ICC trophy drought.
3. Champions Trophy, 2025
Four years later, India and New Zealand locked horns again in the final of the Champions Trophy in Dubai in March 2025. This match was a thriller too as the Kiwis posted 251 runs for the loss of seven wickets on the back of a brilliant fifty from Michael Bracewell down the order. Varun Chakaravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav were the best bowlers for India, accounting for two wickets each. In response, India started well in the run-chase as their openers added 105 runs but soon collapsed to 122/3. Things got extremely tight in the end but India had enough in their tank to get over the line with four wickets in hand to beat New Zealand for the first time in an ICC final.
Who will win this time in the fourth India vs New Zealand ICC final? Can India make it 2-2 or will New Zealand extend their lead to 3-1?
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