India vs New Zealand T20 WC Final: LSG Organises ‘Run To Support’ Marathon For The Men In Blue Ahead Of Title Decider In Ahmedabad

Lucknow, March 8: The Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise side Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) organised a 10 km marathon run called 'run to support' in Lucknow ahead of India's title decider against New Zealand in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 Final.

A participant of the marathon, Tushar told the news agency ANI, "We are very excited for the match. I hope Jasprit Bumrah and Abhishek Sharma play well and we win the World Cup."

On the other hand, another participant, Ayush Shrivastava, said, "I support Team India. Our team is very good. We did not think we would win the last match. We are supporting Team India through this marathon."

India vs New Zealand T20 WC Final

Heading into the final, Team India is on the cusp of becoming the first team to defend a T20 World Cup title, the first team to host the T20 World Cup, and the first to win the T20 World Championship on three occasions. For the black caps, the biggest challenge will be how to deal with Jasprit Bumrah's toe-crushing yorkers and unerring line and length.

Both teams have seen a contrasting trajectory to the finals. New Zealand endured a mixed campaign earlier in the tournament, suffering defeats to South Africa in the group stage and England in the Super Eights, but they delivered a commanding performance in the knockout stage. After restricting South Africa to 169/8, the Black Caps chased down the target in just 12.5 overs to secure a nine-wicket win, powered by Finn Allen's explosive 33-ball century - the fastest ever in T20 World Cup history.

India, meanwhile, enjoyed a flawless run in the group stage, with their only setback coming against South Africa in their opening Super Eight match. Their semi-final against England turned into a high-scoring spectacle, with India posting a formidable 253/7 before England fell agonisingly short by just seven runs.

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. However, the host nation was dominant in their recent T20I series in India, with a comfortable 4-1 win.

What Was Lucknow Super Giants' IPL 2025 Result?

In the previous IPL season, under the captaincy of Rishabh Pant, the LSG finished in seventh spot with six wins and eight losses, with 12 points.

LSG IPL 2026 Full Squad

Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, Avesh Khan, Mohammed Shami, Mayank Yadav, Digvesh Rathi, Akash Singh, Arjun Tendulkar, Arshin Kulkarni, Himmat Singh, M Siddharth, Matthew Breetzke, Mohsin Khan, Prince Yadav, Shahbaz Ahmed, Josh Inglis (Rs 8.5 Crore), Mukul Choudhary (Rs 2.6 Crore), Akshat Raghuwanshi (Rs 2.2 Crore), Wanindu Hasaranga (Rs 2 Crore), Anrich Nortje (Rs 2 Crore), Naman Tiwari (Rs 1 Crore).