India, March 8 -- India captain Suryakumar Yadav wasted no time in immediately alerting the dugout that New Zealand were set to go ahead with a surprise move in the T20 World Cup 2026 final on Sunday at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The gesture came right before the toss, which New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner won and chose to put India in to bat first.

India's vulnerability to off-spin has been no secret. Through the opening half of the World Cup, India's weakness was exposed and exploited by each of their opponents, who countered their left-handed-heavy batting line-up with spin variety, despite the home team managing to secure victories in all their group games. However, following a loss to South Africa in their first Su...