New Zealand want to ‘break a few hearts’ in World Cup final
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 more than 100,000 home fans expected to fill the Narendra Modi Stadium.
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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.
They hammered South Africa – unbeaten until then – by nine wickets in the semifinals 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 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,” he said. “So if we can go out there and try and put, I guess, that added pressure on them and see what happens.”
New Zealand try to remember India’s Jasprit Bumrah is ‘only human’
New Zealand all-rounder Glenn Phillips is known for his big hitting, but one of his side’s greatest tests will be trying to take down India’s star seamer Jasprit Bumrah.
A succession of precise yorkers and length balls yielded just six runs as Bumrah bowled the near-perfect over to help see off England’s late rally in their semifinal chase.
Phillips says the team are ready to pounce if Bumrah falters at all in the final.
“He’s human as well,” Phillips told reporters. “He is allowed to have a bad day, as are the rest of us. So hopefully we have a good day against him.”
Bumrah’s accuracy and his ability to bowl yorkers have choked opposition teams. Against England, his four overs returned figures of 1-33 in a match where 499 runs were scored in 40 overs.
However, he fared less well against the Kiwis in a five-match T20 series at the start of the year.
India won 4-1, but Bumrah, who played in four of the matches, took just four wickets, conceding 9.46 runs an over.
Phillips acknowledged Bumrah’s class but said the tactics against any bowler are never the same.
“Obviously, we had a really good trip against him in the bilateral series as well, but he’s a class bowler,” said Phillips.
“He’s got so many variations. He hits the block hole at the death incredibly well.”
Phillips also played down the possible ploy of playing out Bumrah’s four overs and targeting the other bowlers.
“It’s not necessarily going to be that, per se,” he said.
“As I said, a bowler is allowed to miss, and if he happens to miss, we do have to put it away.
“That also means that if he does bowl, well, we have to accommodate for other things and adapt.”
Perennial underdogs New Zealand edged into the semifinals on net run rate but stepped up a couple of gears when Finn Allen’s 33-ball 100 defenestrated favourites South Africa.
New Zealand overturned their target of 169-8 in just 12.5 overs to claim an outrageous nine-wicket win: They are now seeking a first World Cup title in either white-ball format.
Mitchell Santner’s team will not only be up against a crowd of more than 100,000 but a billion Indian fans watching on TV, although that doesn’t appear to be worrying the New Zealanders.
“For us, we just go out there and enjoy it,” said Phillips.
“We have a great time as a group of guys, we go out there and do our best for our country, and yes, obviously a packed crowd is fantastic.
“We play to entertain the people, and whether they’re supporting us or whether they’re supporting India, it’s fantastic for cricket in general.”
