India’s young opener Abhishek Sharma delivered a match-defining performance in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 final against New Zealand, but the road to that heroic knock was far from smooth.  After struggling through much of the tournament, Sharma opened up about his challenging phase, crediting the unwavering support from his coach and captain for helping him bounce back on the biggest stage.

In the historic final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on March 8, India defended their title with a commanding 96-run victory. Batting first, the Men in Blue posted a mammoth 255/5, thanks to explosive contributions from the top order. 

Abhishek smashed a blistering 52 off just 21 balls, including 6 fours and 3 sixes, reaching his fifty in a record-breaking 18 balls – the fastest half-century of the tournament and in T20 World Cup knockout history. His aggressive start set the tone, forming a fiery 98-run opening partnership with Sanju Samson (89 off 46), before Ishan Kishan (54 off 24) continued the onslaught. 

In reply, New Zealand were bowled out for 159, with Jasprit Bumrah (4 wickets) and Axar Patel (3 wickets) starring with the ball. The triumph marked India’s third T20 World Cup title and their first successful defense of the crown.

Abhishek Sharma’s Redemption at Ahmedabad

After playing a crucial role in India’s T20 World Cup final triumph against New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday, Abhishek Sharma revealed that unwavering faith from the team management helped him overcome a difficult phase during the tournament. 

Notably, the left-hander had managed only 89 runs in seven innings at an average of 12.71, including three ducks and scores like 0, 0, 0, 15, 55, 10, and 9 ahead of the knockout stages.

“I mean, of course, (was there ever a feeling, why is this happening to me? – Talking about the string of low scores) but the one thing was very clear. I wanted to share before as well, but today was the best day to tell about this thing that the coach and the captain, they had the faith in me. And, even I was doubting myself because it was not an easy tournament for me. I’ve never experienced this before, but still playing the first World Cup,” Abhishek told broadcasters after India sealed a victory in the summit clash.

The young opener said the belief from captain Suryakumar Yadav and head coach Gautam Gambhir kept him motivated despite the lean run.  The 23-year-old also spoke emotionally about the support he received from teammates during the tournament.

“Everyone was so, so much into me that you’re going to win one game, one big game, one big game. So I was just doing my process, but it wasn’t that easy as a young player or probably you’ve just been one or two years in the Indian team and then going through this phase. But I think I just love this team, the way they treated me in those days. It was, I’ve never felt it before. I mean, I’ve told you before as well (how does it feel now to be standing up on something that must have been a dream for you), it wasn’t that easy for me because, you know, going through the whole year, you’ve been doing well for the team and especially on the big occasion I wasn’t able to do well, but the faith and the confidence, I think players and support staff and coaches showed on me,” said Abhishek. 

“I think I got emotional in between the tournament as well because if you see that I wanted to do really well for in all the games probably, but I couldn’t. But then I was like, I wanted to talk to coach or captain. They always wanted to come to me and just say one thing, you are, you’re gonna win us the big games. And I just wanted to wait for that day and you can’t ask for the better day for this,” he added. 

Abhishek’ explosive knock in the final ultimately justified the faith shown in him, helping India clinch a historic third T20 World Cup title.