India's World Cup-winning captains Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni, alongside International Cricket Council chairman Jay Shah, walked out at the Narendra Modi Stadium, in Ahmedabad, with the T20 World Cup trophy on Sunday.
New Zealand entered the finals after defeating South Africa in the semifinal, and India secured a thrilling seven-run win over England 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.