Former New Zealand pacer Simon Doull thinks the Black Caps will not be fazed by the nature of the soil in the pitch for Sunday’s Men’s T20 World Cup final against India, to be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
However, India’s record at the Narendra Modi Stadium has been far from convincing.
Allen was in sensational touch, smashing the fastest century in the history of the T20 World Cup. The right-hander reached his hundred in just 33 balls, eclipsing the previous record of 47 deliveries set by Chris Gayle of the West Indies.
Rachin Ravindra and Glenn Phillips made an unbeaten partnership of 146 runs off 72 balls and helped the Kiwis reach the target in just 15.1 overs with eight wickets to spare.
For Canada, Shivam Sharma comes in for injured Kaleem Sana. For New Zealand, Kyle Jamieson and Cole McConchie come in as replacements.
He has carried that momentum into the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, striking key blows in New Zealand’s victories over Afghanistan and the UAE.
This is the UAE’s opening match of the tournament, while New Zealand comes into the fixture with momentum after a five-wicket win over Afghanistan on February 8.
The 27-year-old is set to link up with the squad in Mumbai on Sunday, ahead of New Zealand’s warm-up match against the USA on February 5.
The New Zealander is now comfortably ahead of the rest of the field, which includes Ibrahim Zadran, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Babar Azam.
Since taking charge of the T20 side in 2024, Suryakumar has overseen impressive results, with India winning over 72 per cent of their matches. For a long time, those numbers masked his own struggles with the bat.
