Red-hot Samson powers India to 255-5 against NZ in final

New Zealand will need to score 256 in the final to beat defending champions India and win their maiden Twenty20 World Cup at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday.

Put in to bat, India capitalised on a 98-run opening stand between Sanju Samson (89) and Abhishek Sharma (52) to rack up 255-5.

Samson hit eight sixes and five fours in his 46-ball blitz, maintaining his red-hot form in the business end of the tournament.

Number three Ishan Kishan smashed 54 but James Neesham bowled a three-wicket over to apply the brakes on India's scoring rate towards the end.

New Zealand win toss, opt to bowl against India in final

New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner won the toss and elected to field first in the T20 World Cup final on Sunday as they look to win their first title.

Over 100,000 fans were expected to fill the stands at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi stadium -- the world's biggest cricket ground with a seating capacity of 132,000.

New Zealand, who reached the 2021 final and have never won a white-ball World Cup, made one change to their team with pace bowler Jacob Duffy coming in for off-spinner Cole McConchie.

Santner's side has been hot and cold in the 20-team tournament but hammered South Africa in a nine-wicket semi-final win.

India, led by Suryakumar Yadav, come in unchanged from their nerve-wracking semi-final win over England as they attempt to become the first team to retain the trophy.

A win for the co-hosts could also be the first for any team on home soil and a record third world T20 crown.

Bollywood dance and song dominated the opening acts before they which concluded with a performance from Grammy Awards winning singer Ricky Martin.

Teams

India: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah.

New Zealand: Tim Seifert (wk), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner (capt), Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy.

Umpires: Alex Wharf (ENG), Richard Illingworth (ENG)

TV Umpire: Allahuddien Paleker (RSA)

Match Referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM)