Underdog New Zealand Ready to Break Hearts in T20 Final
News Desk
Ahmedabad: New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner said his side is ready to embrace the underdog role and upset hosts India in Sunday’s Twenty20 World Cup final at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
After a dominant nine-wicket victory over South Africa in the semi-final, New Zealand are chasing their first global T20 title, having fallen short in previous campaigns.
“We are pretty consistent because we try not to get overawed by the situation or opponents. We just go out there and do our thing,” Santner told reporters on Saturday.
Acknowledging that New Zealand are not the favorites, he added, “It’s going to be an opposite challenge where everyone knows we’re probably not the favourites. But we don’t mind. We know we can do little things well and put in a strong team performance. It would put us in a pretty good position to hopefully lift the trophy. I wouldn’t mind breaking a few hearts to lift the trophy.”
Santner believes the pressure will be on India, who are aiming to defend their title in front of more than 100,000 spectators.
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Drawing comparisons to Pat Cummins’ Australia in the 2023 ODI World Cup final at the same venue, he said, “The goal is to silence the crowd. There are a lot of variables in T20 cricket and it is fickle at times. If we go out about our business the same way we can upset another big team.”
India come into the final after a thrilling seven-run win over England in the semi-final. Santner emphasized the importance of early breakthroughs to disrupt their top order.
“The only way to slow any team down is wickets at the top and then try to squeeze a few overs in the middle… if you’re not taking wickets, you have to find a way to stop boundaries,” he said.
Santner also praised the depth of New Zealand’s squad, particularly Cole McConchie, who replaced the injured Michael Bracewell and has contributed 45 runs and two wickets in four matches. “Cole coming straight in was obviously a challenge.
But when you have the buy-in of the group, it’s not just the 11 out there, it’s the 15 in the squad… We’re all in this journey together,” he said.
Despite the occasion’s magnitude, Santner urged his team to approach the match like any other. “It’s easy to say it’s just another game — everyone knows it’s probably not — but the way you go about it has to be the same,” he added.
