Indian fans will remember the famous Pat Cummins press conference ahead of the 2023 World Cup final in Ahmedabad. The Australian skipper appeared confident while facing the reporters and said that he wanted to silence the one-sided crowd at the Narendra Modi stadium on November 19. Rest, as we know, is history. Now, just ahead of the T20 World Cup final at the same venue on March 8, Mitchell Santner has issued a similar warning while channeling his inner Cummins.
During the pre-match press conference ahead of the final, Santner said that his side may not be the favourites heading into the final, but they can execute the little things and put in a strong performance on the day. Santner said that he doesn’t mind breaking a few hearts inside the Narendra Modi stadium on Sunday if it means that his side can lift their first T20 World Cup title.
“It’s obviously a challenge. Everyone knows we’re probably not the favourite, but we don’t mind, we know we can if we do our little things well and put in a strong team performance, you know, put us in a pretty good position to hopefully lift the trophy. But yeah, one might break a few hearts to lift the trophy for once,” said Mitchell Santner at the press conference.
‘AIM WILL BE TO SILENCE THE CROWD’
New Zealand come into the contest on the back of thrashing a South Africa side that was unbeaten throughout the tournament and defeated India in Ahmedabad. The Blackcaps are also well-versed with the Indian conditions now, as they have been in the country since January. This is the third time that the Blackcaps have reached the final of an ICC white-ball event since their loss to England in the ODI World Cup in 2019.
After that, they made it to the finals of the 2021 T20 World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy, to come up short against Australia and India, respectively. Santner believes that his side can take confidence from beating the Proteas and their aim will be firmly on silencing the crowd in Ahmedabad.
“Yeah, I guess that’s the goal. To silence the crowd, but I think that there are a lot of variables in T20 cricket, and it is fickle at times. And we’ve seen throughout the whole World Cup that a lot of teams are on similar pages, and it comes down to some little moments in every game that change the outcome,” said Santner.
The Blackcaps skipper said that India will be under pressure to win a home World Cup and they can add a bit more to it.
“So I think for us it’s taking confidence in that we can, If we go about our business, the same way, we can upset another big team, and I think there’s obviously a lot of pressure on India to win this World Cup at home.”
“So if we can go out there and try to put, I guess, that added pressure on them and see what happens,” said Santner.
While Santner suggested that India come in with a lot of momentum and confidence, he pointed out the hosts’ bowling performance in the semi-final, where England almost chased down a target of 254.
“India will obviously come into this game with plenty of momentum and confidence, particularly with the bat. With the ball, they might feel they could have done a little better after conceding 240 in a high-scoring contest. That said, both teams will head into the final believing in their strengths, and the side that manages to sustain its performance for longer on the day will likely come out on top,” said Santner.
India defeated Santner and his men 4-1 in the T20I series before the World Cup started.
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