New Delhi [India], March 9 (ANI): The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice president Rajeev Shukla noted the strength of the Indian cricket team after the Men in Blue successfully defended their T20 World Cup title by defeating New Zealand in the final of the 2026 edition on Sunday at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium. Rajeev Shukla also hailed the Indian team management for sticking with Sanju Samson even when he was not performing well before his recent success.

India beat New Zealand by 96 runs to successfully defend their T20 World Cup title. The victory made India the first team to win the T20 World Cup on home soil, the first to win consecutive titles after their 2024 win, and the first to lift the trophy three times (2007, 2024, and 2026).

Congratulating the India team on winning the T20 World Cup 2026, Rajeev Shukla, while speaking to ANI, said the side has become extremely strong and deserves immense praise. He noted that their consecutive title wins highlight the team's strength and also lauded the management for showing faith in Sanju Samson despite his earlier performances, which eventually paid off.

'Team India has emerged as a very strong team. No matter how much you praise the team, it is still less. The consecutive wins show how strong the team is. Despite Sanju Samson's performance in earlier matches, the team management had faith in him and gave him a chance.'

Notably, Sanju Samson's 89 off 46 balls at the top of the order in the final, along with contributions from Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Shivam Dube, helped India post a mammoth 254 in the first innings.

Samson's innings was the top score by anyone in the match. Notably, this marked the third successive fifty and a match-defining innings from Samson's bat. He also scored an unbeaten 97 in a do-or-die Super 8s clash against West Indies and then scored 89 against England in the semifinals. What makes Samson's success even more remarkable is that his place in the playing 11 was being questioned by fans and cricket experts following a string of low scores in the World Cup before the West Indies innings.

Maharashtra minister Yogesh Ramdas Kadam also congratulated the Indian team for their victory, saying the strong batting in the first five overs played a key role in the win. He praised the team's overall performance and expressed hope they continue performing well in the future.

'I congratulate the team. The way we batted in the first 5 overs, that's where we won the match. The entire team played very well. I hope that this performance continues in the future as well,' he said.

In the final, New Zealand won the toss and elected to field first. However, a return-to-form, record-breaking fifty from Abhishek Sharma (52 in 21 balls, with six fours and three sixes) and his 98-run stand with Samson made NZ regret the decision. Later, Samson stitched a century stand with Ishan Kishan (54 in 25 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes) to take India past the 200-run mark in the 16th over. After a brief slowdown, Shivam Dube (26* in eight balls, with three fours and two sixes) made some valuable runs to take India to 255/5, the highest total in T20WC finals.

James Neesham (3/46) was the leading wicket-taker for NZ.

In the run-chase of 256 runs, Axar and Bumrah helped India reduce the Kiwis to 72/5, despite a half-century from Tim Seifert (52 in 26 balls, with two fours and five sixes). Despite a brief partnership between Daryl Mitchell (17) and skipper Mitchell Santner (43 in 35 balls, with three fours and two sixes), India kept chipping in with wickets, and the Kiwis were bundled out for just 159 runs. (ANI)