Akshar Patel is excited for the final: India will face New Zealand in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 match at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The Men in Blue are on the verge of creating history as they become the first team to not only defend the trophy but also win it for the first time in home conditions.
Ahead of the crucial encounter, Team India vice-captain Axar Patel has shared his insights on playing in the final and playing the most important game in front of your home crowd. Axar Patel is playing his home matches in Ahmedabad. He also went back to 2023, when he failed to play in the ODI World Cup when India lost to Australia at the same venue.
I thought I would play- Akshar Patel
In a video uploaded by the ICC Hindi Instagram channel, Akshar said, “Yes, obviously, I think I was waiting for this moment for years. I got injured in 2023. After that, I thought I would play on home ground, but unfortunately, I couldn’t.”
Your daily dose of cricket!
Here is the video
“Yes, that’s how it is. You want to play a big match on your home ground. So it’s a very proud moment for me and an exciting moment that you will be playing such an important match in front of your family and your home crowd.”
Akshar Patel finally said, “I am very excited. I think we are playing very well as a team and we will continue this momentum going forward. This is our last match. So I am excited, but yes, we will play with emotion.”
Akshar Patel comes forward when India needs it
Akshar Patel had performed brilliantly in the semi-final against England. Although Akshar didn’t have much to do with the bat, he bowled well and the southpaw was brilliant in the field and took a wonderful catch to dismiss Harry Brook.
A tough catch then became easy again for Will Jacques as he took the catch on the run and handed it to Shivam Dubey before slipping it across the boundary. Those two moments were game changing moments in the match and India won by 7 runs and made it to the final.
Axar Patel had performed brilliantly in the final of the 2024 T20 World Cup. He played an inning of 47 runs off 31 balls when India were struggling at 35/3 at one point. He would like to do something similar on the most important day of the tournament.
India is yet to play its best game
In this tournament, Akshar lost only one game against South Africa, which the Proteas won. This shows his impact on the team and the balance he brings to the team as he can bat higher up the order and even hit sixes when needed. Today, the 32-year-old once again needs to take a big step for the country.
Suryakumar Yadav’s team has not shown its best game in this T20 World Cup and has performed better than its opponents. The Indian national cricket team would like to win its third T20 World Cup trophy by showing its best game against the Kiwi team.
Also Read: IND vs NZ Final Preview: Free Live Streaming, Pitch & Weather Report, Head-to-Head, Playing XI | t20 world cup 2026
