“I wouldn’t mind breaking a few hearts to lift the trophy for once.” Mitchell Santner captains one of the cuddlier sports teams in the world right now but you had no luck if you expected him to take into consideration the hopes and dreams of the 100,000 people that will pack the stadium in Ahmedabad for the T20 World Cup final on Sunday.
“I wouldn’t mind winning a trophy,” Santner responded dryly in response to whether it was a good thing that they have made five ICC men’s white-ball finals in the last 11 years and never won any. “But yeah, if you look at this group and the groups that have been in the past, we are pretty consistent in our thoughts. Because we try not to get overawed by the situation or opponents. We just go out there and do our thing as a unit.
“It’s been no different this time. And again, it’s going to be obviously a challenge where everyone knows we’re probably not the favourites. But we don’t mind. We know we can – if we do our little things well and put in a strong team performance – put us in a pretty good position to hopefully lift the trophy. But yeah, I wouldn’t mind breaking a few hearts to lift the trophy for once.”
New Zealand go up against India, the defending champions, who have been credited with improving their game and taking it even further than it was when they won the title in 2024. “India kind of go hard, obviously at the top, but all the way through,” Santner said. “And I think the only way to slow any team down is wickets at the top. And then try to squeeze a few overs in the middle. I think it’s very hard, if guys get away, to slow them down without taking wickets.
“But if you’re not taking wickets, what’s the best method or way to not get hit for a boundary? It’s how you close overs out versus turning those into 15-20 [runs]. And at the end of the day, if it’s going to be flat, it might be, the other night [in the Mumbai semi-final], trying to restrict it to near 220 instead of 250, it might give you a good chance. So again, it’s all dependent on the surface, what that looks like.”
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Ahmedabad is expected to provide a pitch that doesn’t turn too much and has the kind of bounce and carry that enables batters to hit through the line. With temperatures reaching as high as 36°C on Saturday, the pitch stayed under a hessian cover so that it wouldn’t dry out. Finn Allen and Tim Seifert have put on vital runs at the top of the order for New Zealand, both in the group stage and in particular against South Africa in the semi-final and will be keen to do so again.
“On the flip side with the bat, it’s the opposite,” Santner said. “It’s how do you put the guys under pressure for six overs and not lose the wickets along the way. It’s easy to say, don’t lose the wickets but also get runs, because that’s pretty tough to do.
“But we know how deep India bat. They’re going to put us under pressure for the first over, to the seventh over, to the 12th over, all the way through. So I think it is just trying to be very clear on what that looks like. And try if you can’t get wickets, you [let them] have one [run].”
The final of a world tournament brings an entirely different kind of pressure.
“It’s easy to say it’s just another game, but everyone knows it’s probably not. But I think the way you go about it has to be the same,” Santner said. “Whether it’s your preparation, what it looks like on the day, leading up to the game. And it always comes down to a couple of moments.
“Especially in T20 cricket, where if you can, squeeze the opposition or take the advantage through… I think we saw the other night too. And I don’t know. It always comes down to fielding at some stage.
“But if you can be very consistent in the way you approach the game, barring a couple of moments where you can potentially be a little more ruthless or what that looks like… I don’t think you have to reinvent the wheel.”