History, of different kinds, awaits India and New Zealand on Sunday. In the blue corner are Suryakumar Yadav’s men, seeking to become the first side to win the T20 World Cup thrice, the first outfit to triumph on home soil and the first nation to successfully defend the flagship event of the 20-over format.

Occupying the red — or is it the black? — corner are Mitchell Santner’s admirable Black Caps, the perennial nice guys aiming for their first World Cup trophy of any ilk. The Kiwis have clinched the Champions Trophy (when it was called the ICC KnockOut Trophy) in 2000 and the inaugural World Test Championship in 2021, but a white-ball World Cup triumph has remained steadfastly elusive despite three appearances in the title round (one of them in the T20 version in 2021).