Highest score in T20 World Cup final: India batters put on run-fest in Ahmedabad against New Zealand

Ahmedabad, 2026 – India’s top order produced a blistering exhibition of power-hitting to post 255 for five in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final against New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday, shattering the record for the highest total ever registered in a men’s T20 World Cup title clash.

Sanju Samson’s audacious 89 set the tone, while Abhishek Sharma’s 52 and Ishan Kishan’s whirlwind 54 off 25 balls propelled the defending champions to a daunting target of 256. The tally eclipsed the previous best in a final and also became the highest T20 score witnessed in Ahmedabad, underlining India’s dominance on home soil.

Electing to bowl first, New Zealand were put on the back foot from the outset. Samson and Abhishek blazed 98 runs inside 7.1 overs, finding the boundary with metronomic regularity. Kishan maintained the onslaught, reaching a 25-ball fifty as India surged past 200 in the 15th over.

James Neesham briefly stemmed the flow, claiming three wickets in six deliveries in the 16th over to remove Samson, Kishan and captain Suryakumar Yadav for a duck. Hardik Pandya counter-punched with 18 before holing out, leaving Shivam Dube to finish with an unbeaten 26. Dube looted 24 runs from Neesham’s final over, lifting India to 52 from the last five overs and sealing the highest team total of the 2026 tournament.

The 255 for five is India’s fourth score of 250 or more in 2026, the most by any side in a calendar year, and ranks third in the all-time T20 World Cup list. New Zealand now face a steep chase of 256, a target higher than the 241 England set in the 2019 50-over World Cup final.

Brief Scores: India 255 for 5 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 89, Ishan Kishan 54, Abhishek Sharma 52; James Neesham 3/46).