Preview: India vs. New Zealand - T20 World Cup semi-final prediction, squads, venue, start time

After four weeks of captivating action, the 2026 T20 World Cup reaches its conclusion in Sunday's final between India and New Zealand.

India are looking to retain the trophy they won in 2024, while the Black Caps are aiming to win the tournament for the very first time.

Match preview

India are one victory away from becoming the first three-time winners of the T20 World Cup after successfully navigating their way to the final.

Under Suryakumar Yadav's captaincy, India cruised through the group stage with a 100% record, including a dominant 61-run victory over rivals Pakistan.

Their hopes of progressing to the semi-finals were dealt a blow when they were bowled out for 111 in their response to South Africa's 187 total in their first outing of the Super 8 stage.

India ultimately bounced back from that setback with consecutive victories over Zimbabwe and the West Indies, setting up a third consecutive semi-final meeting with England.

Sanju Samson starred with an 89-run knock off 42 balls as India racked up 253 from their 20 overs in Thursday's high-scoring clash against England in Mumbai.

Jacob Bethell hit 105 to help take England close, but the brilliance of Jasprit Bumrah helped India claim a seven-wicket win.

India have triumphed in both of their previous two T20 World Cup finals, winning by five runs against Pakistan in 2007 and seven runs against South Africa in 2024.

New Zealand are bidding to win an ICC white-ball event for the first time since lifting the Champions Trophy in 2000.

They went close to getting their hands on the T20 World Cup in 2021 when they lost to Australia by eight wickets in the final.

The Black Caps started their latest bid to achieve T20 glory with three wins from four group matches, with their only defeat taking place against group winners South Africa.

They went on to experience a mixed Super 8 stage, which began with an abandoned match against Pakistan due to rain, before they hammered Sri Lanka by 67 runs.

Mitchell Santner's charges then suffered a four-wicket defeat to two-time winners England, but they still managed to clinch second spot in their group ahead of Pakistan due to their favourable net run rate.

After scraping through to the semi-finals, New Zealand produced their best performance of the competition against a South African side that had avoided defeat in their first seven games at the tournament.

They restricted the Proteas to 169 for eight before they chased down the total inside 13 overs, largely thanks to Finn Allen's outstanding 33-ball century - the fastest 100 in T20 World Cup history.

New Zealand are now preparing for a tough test against the tournament co-hosts in Sunday's final, but they can certainly take confidence from the fact they have won all three of their previous meetings with India at T20 World Cups (2007, 2016 and 2021).

Team News

India will have to decide whether to keep faith with opener Abhishek Sharma, who has averaged 12.71 across his seven innings in the tournament.

If Sharma drops out, Ishan Kishan could move up to open alongside Samon, opening the door for Rinku Singh to come into the middle order.

In regard to the bowling department, Kuldeep Yadav is putting pressure on Varun Chakravarthy, who finished with figures of one for 64 off his four overs in Thursday's semi-final against England.

As for New Zealand, they will have to decide whether to bring Ish Sodhi back into the side for Sunday's showpiece event in Ahmedabad, with the pitch likely to influence their final decision.

Jim Neesham replaced Sodhi for the semi-final and is the obvious candidate to drop out if New Zealand opt to recall the leg-spinner.

Buoyed by their 117-run stand on Wednesday, New Zealand's opening pair of Allen and Seifert could be key to their country's hopes of lifting the trophy on Sunday, having scored 563 runs between them in the tournament.

India squad:

Suryakumar Yadav (c), Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Arshdeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Tilak Varma, Kuldeep Yadav

New Zealand squad:

Mitchell Santner (c) Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi

T20 World Cup results

India's tournament so far

Group stage:

vs. USA: Won by five wickets

vs. Namibia: Won by 10 wickets

vs. Pakistan: Lost by seven wickets

vs. Netherlands: Won by eight wickets

Super 8s:

vs. South Africa: Lost by 76 runs

vs. Zimbabwe: Won by 72 runs

vs. West Indies: Won by five wickets

Semi-final:

vs. England: Won by seven runs

New Zealand's tournament so far

Group stage:

vs. Afghanistan: Won by five wickets

vs. United Arab Emirates: Won by 10 wickets

vs. South Africa: Lost by seven wickets

vs. Canada: Won by eight wickets

Super 8s:

vs. Pakistan: No result

vs. Sri Lanka: Won by 61 runs

vs. England: Lost by four wickets

Semi-final

vs. South Africa: Won by nine wickets

Where will India vs. New Zealand be held?

The final will take place at the Narenda Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, which can hold around 132,000 spectators.

India have played two matches at this venue during the tournament, beating the Netherlands in the group stage and suffering a heavy loss to South Africa in the Super 8s.

As for New Zealand, Ahmedabad was the scene for their seven-wicket defeat to South Africa in the group stage.

What time will India vs. New Zealand start?

The final will start at 7pm local time on Sunday, which means it will be a 1:30pm start for those watching from the UK.

We say: India to win

India showcased their depth of batting talent in their semi-final victory, while Bumrah and Hardik Pandya played key roles with the ball, and the pair are likely to be crucial again on Sunday.

Considering the strength in all departments and the fact they will be cheered on by the majority of those in attendance, we think all the signs point to India retaining the T20 World Cup.