Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], March 8 (ANI): Before witnessing the cricket clash between Team India and New Zealand in the ICC T20 World Cup final at Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday evening, spectators were treated to a musical performance by Punjabi singer Sukhbir Singh and international star Ricky Martin.
Sukhbir kick-started the closing ceremony with his chartbuster ‘Oh Ho Ho Ho’, prompting the audience to dance to the iconic track. After his performance, Ricky Martin took to the stage and performed several of his popular numbers. The international star also sang his evergreen hit ‘Maria’, with its famous “Un, Dos, Tres” lyrics reverberating through the stadium.
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Prior to his performance, Sukhbir even spoke with ANI and expressed his excitement.
“I am very excited as I have never performed for a cricket audience. This performance will be very special…” the singer said.
Coming to the match, New Zealand have won the toss and opted to field against India in the final of the T20 World Cup 2026 in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
New Zealand entered the finals after defeating South Africa in the semifinal, India secured a thrilling seven-run win over Engalnd in Mumbai to book their finals berth.
In their head-to-head clashes, history may favour New Zealand, but form is with India. The Black Caps have not lost a match to India in the T20 World Cup, having scored victories in 2007, 2016 and 2021.
Going into the final, India are chasing a few firsts – first to defend a T20 World Cup title, first host team to win the T20 World Cup and the first to three T20 World Cup championships.
For New Zealand, the biggest challenges will be how to keep the star-studded Indian batting line-up relatively quiet and how to deal with Jasprit Bumrah’s unerring line and length.
Teams:
India (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson(w), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah.
New Zealand (Playing XI): Tim Seifert(w), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner(c), Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy. (ANI)