Suryakumar Yadav‘s India absolutely hammered New Zealand in the T20 World Cup 2026 final on March 8, winning the tournament for the third time. However, former England pacer Steve Harmison said the Men in Blue weren’t the best team in the tournament, adding that South Africa were better. India became the first team to defend the T20 World Cup title and also win the tournament on home soil by thrashing the Black Caps by 96 runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium. India, the hosts, just lost one match, and the defeat came against South Africa in the Super 8s.
The Proteas were being touted as one of the favourites alongside India to lift the silverware; however, South Africa faced a nine-wicket hiding at the hands of New Zealand in the semi-final at the Eden Gardens. On the other hand, India eked out a nervy win over England in the second semi-final, but the Men in Blue put in a dominant show in the summit clash, where Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan’s half-centuries propelled India to 255/5.
Speaking about India, Harmison said that India were better at playing the moments, but when it comes to being the best team overall, the hosts fell short, arguing that South Africa were better.
“The Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson partnership largely won the final for India. Bumrah was the difference in the overall tournament on flat tracks. I don’t think India were the best team in this tournament. South Africa were the best team. India were the best moment team. They won the best moments,” said Harmson, speaking on the talkSPORT YouTube channel.
“I don’t think they were that convincing in the group stages. After that, they won the moments. They had trouble against the West Indies in a quarter-final. India found a way to win when not playing well because of their big-moment players. But South Africa were the more consistent team in the tournament, apart from that one game where Finn Allen just had a day out. Handling pressure in big moments and delivering, India did it better than anyone else,” he added.
How did India’s tournament go?
India won all their group-stage matches at the T20 World Cup 2026, defeating the USA, Namibia, Pakistan, and the Netherlands. However, the side were far from their best as the USA gave them a real scare in the opening match.
The Super 8s stage began with India losing to the Proteas; however, Suryakumar’s team bounced back in style, winning against Zimbabwe and the West Indies in must-win games. From there on, India didn’t look back, scoring more than 250 runs in both the semi-final and final, to comprehensively win the tournament.
