Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], March 16 (ANI): Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin met Indian cricketers Washington Sundar and Varun Chakaravarthy following the Men in Blue's ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 win and extended his best wishes to both players for the future.

In a post on X, Stalin said he had a memorable interaction with Tamil Nadu's 'spin twins' Washington Sundar and Varun Chakaravarthy, praising their perseverance, discipline and self-belief, and wished them many more match-winning performances in the future.

https://x.com/mkstalin/status/2033453771523756483?s=20

'Memorable moments with our spin twins from Tamil Nadu, Washington Sundar and Varun Chakaravarthy. Had a wonderful interaction with them on their journey, shaped by perseverance, discipline, and self-belief. Wishing @Sundarwashi5 and @Chakaravarthy29 many more match-winning spells and proud moments ahead,' said MK Stalin in the X post.

While Washington Sundar only featured in two T20 WC 2026 matches and remained wicketless in both of them, Varun Chakaravarthy played a key role in India's T20 World Cup title defence. Chakaravarthy finished as the tournament's joint-highest wicket-taker alongside compatriot Jasprit Bumrah, with 14 wickets to his name in nine matches at an average of 20.50.

Coming to the T20 World Cup 2026, India beat New Zealand by 96 runs on March 8 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).

In the T20 WC final, NZ 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 Patel (3/23) and Jasprit Bumrah (4/15) reduced 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)