India captain Suryakumar Yadav was dismissed for a golden duck in the T20 World Cup final, caught at deep backward square off an extravagant attempt at a pull shot. It was the most fleeting of blemishes on a near-perfect Indian batting performance that still produced 255 and resulted in a 96-run victory over New Zealand to retain the World Cup.
The captain’s golden duck arrived in the chaos of the 15th over, when India inexplicably lost four wickets in the space of five overs after appearing to be on course for 300. Jimmy Neesham was the unlikely agent of disruption, removing Samson (89), Kishan (54), and Suryakumar in a single over that went for just one run. The crowd’s disbelief was audible in every corner of the stadium.
But India’s top order had done enough. The powerplay had yielded 92 for no loss, matching the World Cup record. Sharma had scored an 18-ball fifty. Samson had dominated with 89 off 46 balls. At drinks after 14 overs India stood at 191 for one, and Dube’s late hitting in the final over pushed the total to 255 despite the middle-overs wobble.
New Zealand’s reply was brief and uninspiring. Finn Allen, so devastating in the semi-final, made just nine. Seifert’s fifty stood alone as an act of resistance that ultimately changed nothing. Bumrah was devastating, his three wickets arriving with the precise, unhittable slow yorkers that have defined his career. New Zealand were bowled out 96 runs short.
India won the T20 World Cup. Their captain’s golden duck will be a footnote in a match story dominated by heroics. History remembers champions, and India are undeniably that.