Sunday’s T20 World Cup final had its share of extraordinary moments nestled inside an otherwise one-sided contest. Jimmy Neesham’s incomprehensible over — one run, three wickets — and Ishan Kishan’s impossible catch off Rachin Ravindra provided the talking points, even as India cruised to a 96-run victory over New Zealand to retain the World Cup.
India’s innings followed a now-familiar template. The openers were careful early before the innings exploded, hitting 92 for no loss in the powerplay. Sharma, Samson, and Kishan all reached fifty. When Samson deposited three consecutive balls into the stands during the 14th over, India were on 191 for one and seemed bound for 300.
Then came the chaos. Neesham somehow conceded just one run in an over while removing three batters, including Samson for 89 and Kishan for 54. Suryakumar Yadav was caught brilliantly by Ravindra at deep backward square, falling for a golden duck. The innings recovered through Dube’s late hitting, and a final total of 255 was constructed.
New Zealand’s reply began disastrously, with the Kishan miracle delivering Ravindra’s wicket. The New Zealand opener had attempted to drive, the ball had flicked the edge, Kishan had dived, launched, collided with the ground, lost his cap over his eyes, and somehow held the ball between his chin and arm. Two wickets down in 19 balls, the chase was already hopeless.
New Zealand were bowled out for 159. Bumrah won the match award with three superb wickets. India made history. And two of the stranger moments in recent World Cup finals will be replayed on highlight reels for years to come.