'Absolutely no match': Kohli lauds former India teammates for T20 World Cup glory

AHMEDABAD: Former India captain Virat Kohli heaped praise on former national teammates after they crushed New Zealand by 96 runs to win the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 here at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday.

Kohli, who drew curtains on his glittering shortest-format career following the Men in Blue's T20 World Cup 2024 victory, lauded his former national teammates for playing explosive cricket throughout the 20-team mega event, which he claimed was of "no match" for the opposition teams.

"Champions. Phenomenal win for Team India in Ahmedabad. Absolutely no match for the explosive cricket played by us throughout the tournament," Kohli wrote on X.

Contrary to the previous edition, where India remained unbeaten throughout the tournament, the Men in Blue's T20 World Cup 2026 campaign sustained a major blow in the Super Eights stage, during which they suffered a gruelling 76-run defeat at the hands of South Africa.

The defeat meant India needed to win both their remaining Super Eights matches, against Zimbabwe and West Indies, convincingly, and the defending champions fulfilled the requirements to qualify for the semi-finals.

India were significantly challenged in the high-scoring semi-final against England at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday, but the home side held their nerves to prevail by just seven runs.

Their grit in the "tough situations" moved Kohli, who praised the players for their fighting spirit, while also congratulating the management on the remarkable achievement.

"Brilliant character shown by the boys to keep fighting in tough situations and become world champions once again. Congratulations to all the players and all the members of the management for achieving this feat," he added.