New Zealand want to ‘break a few hearts’ in World Cup final
- New Zealand reached the 2021 final, losing to Australia, and have never won a white-ball World Cup.
AHMEDABAD: New Zealand will “not mind breaking a few hearts” in the T20 World Cup final against defending champions and hosts India, captain Mitchell Santner said on Saturday.
Santner’s side will face India on Sunday in Ahmedabad with over 100,000 home fans expected to fill the Narendra Modi Stadium.
New Zealand reached the 2021 final, losing to Australia, and have never won a white-ball World Cup.
“I wouldn’t mind winning a trophy,” Santner said.
He added: “It’s going to be obviously a challenge where everyone knows we’re probably not the favourites.
“But yeah, I wouldn’t mind breaking a few hearts to lift the trophy for once.”
New Zealand have blown hot and cold.
READ MORE: India eye T20 history, New Zealand hunt maiden World Cup
They hammered South Africa – unbeaten until then – by nine wickets in the semi-finals after Finn Allen blasted the fastest-ever century at the tournament.
But they also lost to South Africa and England earlier in the competition.
They face an India side on a roll with three straight wins.
In 2023, Australia led by Pat Cummins silenced the home crowd in Ahmedabad in the final of the ODI World Cup.
“I guess that’s the goal, is to silence the crowd,” said Santner.
“T20 cricket is fickle at times. We’ve seen South Africa playing very good cricket all the way through and then had a little hiccup against us and out.
“So I think for us, it’s taking confidence from that and if we go about our business the same way, we can upset another big team.”
Top-ranked India are attempting to become the first team to win back-to-back T20 World Cups and the first to lift the trophy on home soil.
They would also be the first to win the title three times.
But they will have to withstand the expectations of a packed house plus hundreds of millions more watching on TV.
Santner feels that level of expectation could weigh heavily on them.
“So I think that comes with a lot of added pressure as well,” said Santner. “So if we can go out there and try and put, I guess, that added pressure on them and see what happens.”
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