T20 World Cup: Gambhir reacts to Dhoni's 'killer combo' smile jibe

Indian coach Gautam Gambhir responded to MS Dhoni's 'killer combo' smile compliment after India's historic T20 World Cup 2026 win. India beat New Zealand by 96 runs, becoming the first team to win three titles and back-to-back trophies.

Dhoni-Gambhir Exchange on Social Media

Indian men's cricket team head coach Gautam Gambhir responded to his former captain and teammate MS Dhoni on the latter's congratulatory post on social media after Team India's win over New Zealand in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 on Sunday at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium.

After India's win, MS Dhoni, while hailing India's back-to-back T20 World Cup wins, also hilariously complimented coach Gambhir, saying, "smile looks great on u, intensity with smile is a killer combo". "History gets created at Ahmedabad,big congratulations to the team and support staff and to all the fans of Indian Cricket Team worldwide.such a pleasure to see all of u play.Coach Sahab smile looks great on u,intensity with smile is a killer combo, very well done.enjoy guys(BUMRAH ke baare mein kuch na likhoon tou hi acha hai.CHAMPION BOWLER)," MS Dhoni said in his Instagram post.

Responding to MS Dhoni's post, Gautam Gamhir left a comment on the post saying, "And what a reason to smile, great seeing u!"

India's Historic T20 World Cup Triumph

India beat New Zealand by 96 runs to successfully defend their T20 World Cup title. The victory made India the first team to win the T20 World Cup on home soil, the first to win consecutive titles after their 2024 win, and the first to lift the trophy three times (2007, 2024, and 2026).

India's Batting Dominance

In the final, New Zealand won the toss and elected to field first. However, a return-to-form, record-breaking fifty from Abhishek Sharma (52 in 21 balls, with six fours and three sixes) and his 98-run stand with Samson made NZ regret the decision. Later, Samson stitched a century stand with Ishan Kishan (54 in 25 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes) to take India past the 200-run mark in the 16th over. After a brief slowdown, Shivam Dube (26* in eight balls, with three fours and two sixes) made some valuable runs to take India to 255/5, the highest total in T20WC finals. James Neesham (3/46) was the leading wicket-taker for NZ.

New Zealand's Run-Chase Falters

In the run-chase of 256 runs, Axar and Bumrah helped India reduce the Kiwis to 72/5, despite a half-century from Tim Seifert (52 in 26 balls, with two fours and five sixes). Despite a brief partnership between Daryl Mitchell (17) and skipper Mitchell Santner (43 in 35 balls, with three fours and two sixes), India kept chipping in with wickets, and the Kiwis were bundled out for just 159 runs. (ANI)

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