A file photo of New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner during the T20 World Cup final. (that I)
TimesofIndia.com in Ahmedabad: Mitchell Santner was a bit flustered as he settled into his chair to address the media ahead of the T20 World Cup final against India in Ahmedabad. The room was packed and before the floor opened to questions, hands were frantically raised to ask questions of the New Zealand captain.
Over fifteen minutes of Q&A took place about the expected lines but before he got up, the all-rounder spoke about the pressure India will be applying in this game. The pressure of hosting an event. From defending the title. Carrying the nation’s hopes is no easy matter. When you combine all three, things get to the next level. Meanwhile, opponents view this feeling among the hosts as an advantage and opportunity for themselves.
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Thousands will pass through the turnstiles and fill this massive Narendra Modi Stadium for the title match. It is no surprise that only a few are cheering for the BlackCaps as another sea of blue is expected. The shirt sellers had already blocked up the marked openings around Gate 1 and Gate 2, clearly preferring blue, as it was their favorite colour, showing their unfamiliarity with the colors of the opposite camp.
For any rival leader, feeling out of place at the Narendra Modi Stadium is not unusual and Santner can take inspiration from the way Pat Cummins & Co. silenced nearly 100,000 people on November 19, 2023. Are they, like Cummins, looking to silence the masses?“Yes, I think that’s the goal, isn’t it, to silence the audience but I think there are a lot of variables in T20 cricket and it’s fickle at times. We’ve seen throughout the whole World Cup that a lot of teams are on similar pages and it’s about some little moments in every match that change the outcome.”
So I think England were very close to chasing that down last night, and we saw South Africa playing very good cricket all the way through, and then I think they had a bit of a hiccup against us and got out.
Yes, I think that’s the goal, to silence the audience but I think there are a lot of variables in T20 cricket and it’s fickle at times.
Mitchell Santner
“So I think for us it takes confidence that we can if we do our job the same way, we can upset another top team and I think there’s a lot of pressure on India to win the World Cup on home soil. I mean it will be, I think if we don’t win it would be great to win the World Cup on home soil, so I think that comes with a lot of extra pressure as well.”
“If we can go out there and try to put that extra pressure on them, I guess, and see what happens,” Santner said during the press conference on the eve of the match.New Zealand is no stranger to knockouts in the ICC. They have reached three finals – the 2015 ODI World Cup, the 2019 ODI World Cup and the 2021 T20 World Cup – but their last limited-overs title came back in 2000 when they beat India in the 2000 Champions Trophy final.
The last ICC title came when they beat the same opponent in the 2021 World Test Championship final.
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner celebrates the wicket of South Africa’s Dewald Breves with his teammates during the T20 Cricket World Cup semi-final. (AP)
The ‘good ol’ boys’ barely managed to finish first in cricket, but were consistent enough to challenge the best in the business in multi-nation tournaments. The first semi-final at Eden Gardens in Kolkata showed why they were not to be taken lightly as they beat then-undefeated South Africa by nine wickets with 7.1 overs.“I wouldn’t mind winning a title, but yeah I think – when you look at this group and the groups we’ve had in the past, we’re very consistent in these tournaments because we try not to get overwhelmed by the situation or the opponents, we just go out there and do our job as a unit. It was no different this time. And again, it’s going to be a clear challenge.” “Everyone knows we’re probably not the favourites, but we don’t mind.
We know that we can, if we do our little things well and put in a strong team performance, that will put us in a very good position to hopefully lift the cup. “But yeah, I don’t mind breaking a few hearts to lift the trophy for once,” Santner said.They did not have a perfect season in the 2026 T20 World Cup, but after surviving the Colombo match and prevailing in the Kolkata semi-final, they faced another team who had yet to play a perfect match.
India dropped a hat-trick at this stadium during the Super Eight match against South Africa, and the Aiden Markram-led unit showed how capable the home team can win in their own backyard. Even in the 499-run feast at Wankhede on Thursday, the margin was just seven runs, further highlighting how testing and pushing the Men in Blue were.
reconnaissance
Which team do you consider to be more experienced at handling pressure during big matches?
Captains generally prefer to downplay the recent hype but Santner is embracing it. He realizes it’s not just another game, but they’ll approach it with the mentality they had in the games leading up to the title clash.“It’s easy to say it’s just another match but everyone knows it probably isn’t. But I think the way you go about it has to be the same whether it’s your preparation, what it looks like the day before the match. I think it always comes down to a few moments, especially in T20 cricket, where you can put pressure on the opposition or take advantage from there. I think we saw that last night.” “I don’t know, it’s always about playing at some stage, but if you can be very consistent in the way you approach the game and tolerate a few moments where you can potentially be a little bit more ruthless or whatever it feels like, but I think – I don’t think you have to reinvent the wheel. It’s just getting to the final, you’re up against another team that’s also playing some good cricket, so it’s never been that easy,” Santner said.The good ol’ boys of cricket are ready to take on the big boys in their own backyard. The crowds, noise and burden of expectations will be a challenge, and New Zealanders are ready to embrace that challenge.