Finn Allen Fails to Fire and New Zealand’s Chase Never Gets Started in T20 Final

The semi-final version of Finn Allen — the one who scored 100 off 33 balls against South Africa — would have made this final interesting. The actual version, who made nine before departing in the third over of New Zealand’s chase, made the T20 World Cup final the formality that India’s brilliant 255 had already half-guaranteed. New Zealand were bowled out for 159, losing by 96 runs.
India’s innings was a joy to watch. The powerplay produced 92 for no loss in six overs, equalling the World Cup record, and the top three all reached fifty. Sharma went first to the mark in 18 balls, Kishan in 23, and Samson in 33 before going on to 89. At 191 for one in the 14th over, India were well on course for a record total before the middle overs brought four unexpected wickets.
The middle-overs wobble — including a bizarre Neesham over that somehow produced one run and three wickets — trimmed India’s ambitions. Suryakumar Yadav fell for a golden duck and both Samson and Kishan departed in the same over. Dube’s late hitting in the final over produced 24 runs from two balls faced and boosted the total to 255.
Without Allen, New Zealand’s batting was always going to struggle. Their openers had combined for 158 in the semi-final; they combined for considerably less in the final. The middle order was no more reliable, and while Seifert fought to fifty with great spirit, it was a half-century in a lost cause. Bumrah dismissed three, took the match award, and looked as brilliant as he ever has.
India won the T20 World Cup for the second consecutive time and the first time at home. Allen’s failure was a subplot, but it was a significant one — without him, New Zealand’s batting simply had no mechanism to make India work for their victory.