The last time the Indian team played a World Cup final at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, they suffered a heartbreak against Australia in 2023. The Men in Blue would want to exorcise ghosts of the past and come up with a collective effort in the all-important summit clash against New Zealand on Sunday.

Things haven’t necessarily gone according to the script for the Indian team in the ongoing T20I showpiece and that’s the beauty of this beautiful game. Furthermore, it is hard to predict anything in the shortest format of the game, where a match can turn on its head in a matter of deliveries.

India recently took on the Kiwis and bested them by 4-1 in the bilateral series but that result won’t have any impact on this high-octane clash. Furthermore, India played a different brand of cricket in the bilateral series but the World Cup pressure has forced them to play a different game altogether.

The Men in Blue came up with a brilliant batting and fielding show against England in the semis but would want to pull up their socks with the ball.

On the other hand, New Zealand was just sensational against South Africa, with Finn Allen smashing a 33-ball century. The Kiwis are always known to punch above their weight and India must not expect anything but the same.

Head to Head: Matches: 30, Won by India: 18, Won by New Zealand: 11, Tied: 1

India: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh.

New Zealand: Mitchell Santner (c), Finn Allen, Cole McConchie, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Kyle Jamieson, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Ben Sears (reserve).